History of Early American Landscape Design - User contributions [en]

Portico

2015-07-07T19:49:41Z

K-perkov:

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], [[veranda]], [[porch]], and portico in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "portico" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the porticos. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose. They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views. Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "portico," and "[[piazza]]." Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "portico" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the portico, as opposed to [[piazza]], [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "portico" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
<span id="Smith_cite"></span> Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the portico at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the portico until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible ([[#Smith|view text]]) [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the portico at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) <span id="Downing2_cite"></span>[[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the portico served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it." ([[#Downing2|view text]])
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. [[Lewis Miller|Miller]] noted on his drawing that "A lofty portico ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The portico served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. <span id="Miller_cite"></span> [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty portico . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" ([[#Miller|view text]]) [Fig. 17]. Often the portico was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood portico. As <span id="Warden_cite"></span> [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate." ([[#Warden|view text]])
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
Porticos generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.

--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* Anonymous, 1737, describing in the ''St. Philip's Parish Vestry Book'' St. Philip's Parish, Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "[Workmen recommended the constructions of] a large Cornish under ye eves & round ye '''Porticoes'''."

* [[Charles Carroll|Carroll, Charles]] (the Barrister), July 2, 1767, describing [[Mount Clare]], [[plantation]] of Charles and Margaret Tilghman Carroll, Baltimore, Md. (quoted in Trostel 1981: 34)<ref>Michael Trostel, ''Mount Clare, Being an Account of the Seat Built by Charles Carroll, Barrister, upon His Lands at Patapsco'' (Baltimore: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland, 1981), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NTB2KX7C view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The Plan is for a '''Portico''' or Colonade to be Joined to the Front of a House and Project Eight Feet from it, An [[Arch]] at Both Ends, for a Passage through it, to Spring from Pilasters of Stone Joined to the End [[Pillar]]s of the front of the '''Portico''' and the two three Quarter Round [[Column]]s, I think they Call them, that Run up Close to the wall of the House."

* Anonymous, 1769, describing in the ''Georgia Gazette'' a proposed Presbyterian meetinghouse in Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[The meetinghouse was to be] 80 feet long by 47 feet wide . . . with a handsome light steeple in proportion to the frame, a portico at one end of 50 by 10 feet."

* [[Philip Vickers Fithian|Fithian, Philip Vickers]], March 18, 1774, describing [[Nomini Hall]], Westmoreland County, Va. (1943: 107)<ref>Philip Vickers Fithian, ''Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian, 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion'', ed. by Hunter D. Farish (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, 1943) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XJX4WV8F view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The North side [of [[Nomini Hall|Nomini Hall]]] I think is most beautiful of all; In the upper Story is a Row of seven Windows with eighteen Lights a piece; and below six windows, with the like number of lights; besides a large '''Portico''' in the middle, at the sides of which are two Windows each with eighteen Lights."

* [[Ebenezer Hazard|[Hazard, Ebenezer]], May 31, 1777, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Shelley 1954: 405)<ref> Fred Shelley, "The Journal of Ebenezer Hazard in Virginia, 1777", ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 62 (1954):400-423, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q8VUV2A3: view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Wings are on the West Front, between them is a covered Parade, which reaches from the one to the other; the '''Portico''' is supported by Stone [[Pillar]]s."

* [[Jonathan Clark|Clark, Jonathan]], 1786, describing a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[There was a] fraimed dwelling house 26 by 20 . . . and a '''portico''' the length of the fraimed house five feet wide."

* [[ J. P. Brissot de Warville|Brissot de Warville, J. P.]], 1792, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:61)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I hastened to arrive at [[Mount Vernon]]. . . . after having passed over two hills, you discover a country house of an elegant and majestic simplicity. . . . This house overlooks the Potomack, enjoys an extensive prospect, has a vast and elegant '''portico''' on the front next to the river, and a convenient distribution of the apartments within."

[[File:0087.jpg|thumb|Fig. 29, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796. "The portico faces to the East."]]
* [[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1795, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1799: 207)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "In the center is another very spacious apartment, of an octagon form, reaching from the front to the rear of the house, the large folding glass doors of which, at each end, open under a '''portico'''."

* [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], July 19 1796, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (1977: 1:163) <ref>Benjamin Henry Latrobe, ''The Virginia Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1798'', ed. Edward C. Carter II, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SZEEBG9K view on Zotero]. </ref>

: "The House is connected with the Kitchen offices by [[arcade]]s. . . . Along the other front is a '''portico''' supported by 8 square [[pillar]]s, of good proportions and effect." [Fig. 29]

* Anonymous, 1803, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Fredericksburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 286)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "commodious close [[porch]] in front, and an open '''portico''' in the rear."

* Anonymous, August 9, 1805, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Stafford County, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "FOR LEASE, A Lot of Land. . . . On the above lot there is two convenient Dwelling houses, situate near each other, with two rooms on a floor and a '''portico''' to each, the whole length of the house, and convenient closets."

* [[Joseph Scott|Scott, Joseph]], 1806, describing Centre Square and Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. (p. 25)<ref>Joseph A. Scott, ''Geographical Description of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Printed by R. Cochran, 1806), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/55XKIWPN view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The water-works of Philadelphia are the most extensive of their kind of any in America. . . . The water is discharged into a circular aqueduct, extending along Chestnut and Broad streets, into the middle of Market-street, in the centre square. . . . The building in the centre square, is a square of sixty feet, with a Doric '''portico''' on the east and west fronts. From its centre rises a circular tower, forty feet in diameter. It is covered by a dome. The tower contains the engine and reservoir . . . large enough to contain 20,000 gallons, all the chimnies of the house, which form a marble pedestal, on the summit. The shafts of the [[column]]s of the '''porticos''', consist each of one solid block of marble, 14 feet 9 inches in length, and two feet nine inches in diameter, at the base."[See Fig. 15]

[[File:0051.jpg|thumb|Fig. 30, [[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809]]
* [[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the [[Woodlands]], seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)

: "The Garden consists of a large verdant [[lawn]] surrounded by a belt or [[walk]], & [[shrubbery]] for some distance. the outer side of the [[walk]] is adorned here & there, by scattered forest trees, thick & thin. It is bounded, partly as is described—partly by the Schylkill [''sic''] & a creek exhibiting a Mill & where it is scarcely noticed, by a common post and rail. The [[walk]] is said to be a mile long—perhaps it is something less. one is led in to the garden from the '''portico''', to the east and lefthand. or from the park, by a small gate contiguous to the house. traversing this walk, one sees many beauties of landscape—also a fine statue, symbol of Winter & age." [Fig. 30]

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 20, 1809, describing Philadelphia, Pa. (CWF)

: "The building in Centre Square, is Sixty feet in every direction; having a Doric '''portico''' in front, to the East & West."

* [[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], 1812, describing [[Monticello]], [[plantation]] of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1954: 144) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America: Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. by Richard Beale Davis (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house has two '''porticoes''' of the Doric order, though one of them was not quite completed, and the pediment had in the meanwhile to be supported on the stems of four tulip trees, which are really, when well grown, as beautiful as the fluted shafts of Corinthian [[pillar]]s. They front north and south."

* <div id="Warden"></div>[[David Bailie Warden|Warden, David Bailie]], 1816, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (p. 156)<ref name="Warden_1816">Warden, David Bailie. 1816. ''A Chronographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia''. Paris: Printed and sold by Smith. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF8TXC8D view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Warden_cite|back up to history]]

: "The establishment of George Calvert, Esq. at Bladensburg, attracts attention. His mansion, consisting of two stories, seventy feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth, is admirably adapted to the American climate. On each side there is a large '''portico''', which shelters from the sun, rain, or snow."

* Anonymous, September 30, 1820, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Culpeper County, Va. (CWF)

: "I will sell my tavern establishment . . . consisting of . . . A large and commodious house with four rooms below stairs and eight above, with two large '''porticoes'''—a new smoke house, a new [[icehouse|ice house.]]"

* [[Benjamin Silliman|Silliman, Benjamin]], 1824, describing [[Monte Video]], property of Daniel Wadsworth, Avon, Conn. (p. 12)<ref>Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (New Haven, Conn.: S. Converse, 1824), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B5VWTWM5 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "To the west, the [[lawn]] rises gradually from the water, until it reaches the '''portico''' of the house, near the brow of the mountain, beyond which, the western valley is again seen."

* [[George Ticknor|Ticknor, George]], December 16, 1824, in a letter to William H. Prescott, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (quoted in Jones 1957: 7)<ref name="Jones_1957">Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We were received with a good deal of dignity and much cordiality, by Mr. and Mrs. Madison, in the '''portico''', and immediately placed at ease."

* [[Frederick Douglass|Douglass, Frederick]], 1825, describing Wye House, estate of Col. Edward Lloyd, Talbot County, Md. ([1855] 1987: 47) <ref>Frederick Douglass, ''My Bondage and My Freedom'', ed. by William L. Andrews (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q764CVCK view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The great house itself was a large, white, wooden building, with wings on three sides of it. In front, a large '''portico''', extending the entire length of the building, and supported by a long range of [[column]]s, gave to the whole establishment an air of solemn grandeur."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 2, 1828, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1906: 226) <ref name="Smith_1906">Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The rotunda is in form and proportioned like the Pantheon at Rome. It has a noble '''portico''',— the [[pillars]], cornice, &c of the Corinthian."

* <div id="Smith"></div>[[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 17, 1828, describing Montpelier, plantation of James Madison, Montpelier Station, Va. (1906: 233, 235-36)<ref name="Smith_1906"></ref> [[#Smith_cite|back up to history]]

: "We were at first conducted into the Drawing room, which opens on the back '''Portico''' and thus commands a view through the whole house, which is surrounded with an extensive [[lawn]], as green as in spring; the [[lawn]] is enclosed with fine trees, chiefly forest, but interspersed with weeping willows and other ornamental trees, all of most luxuriant growth and vivid verdure. It was a beautiful scene! . . . After dinner, we all walked in the '''Portico''', (or [[piazza]], which is 60 feet long, supported on six lofty [[pillar]]s) until twilight." [See Fig. 16]

* Anonymous, June 1829, describing [[Sedgeley]], seat of [[James C. Fisher]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (''The Casket'' 4: 265)

: "The mansion was designed and erected under the superintendance of the late Mr. Latrobe, and has been much admired for its architectural beauty. The style is Gothic, with a '''portico''' front and rear, supported by eight [[column]]s each. It presents a length of seventy-five feet, and is well adapted in the arrangement of the interior for a gentleman's residence." [See Fig. 19]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

* [[George William Featherstonhaugh|Featherstonhaugh, George William]], August 18 and 19 1837, describing [[Fort Hill]], seat of John C. Calhoun, Clemson, S.C. (quoted in Jones 1957: 126)<ref name="Jones_1957"></ref>

: "After partaking of an excellent dinner we adjourned for the evening to the '''portico''', where with the aid of a guitar, accompanied by a pleasing voice, and some capital curds and cream, we prolonged a most agreeable conversazione until a late hour. . . .
<p></p>
: "On our return to Fort Hill, the family again assembled in the portico to pass a most agreeable evening."

* [[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "Behind the "Bachelor's Row," and on the upper part of the hill is an imposing edifice of brick, called "Society Hall." It is built of two stories, with a fine '''portico''' of twelve feet wide, running the whole length of the front, and a terrace of twenty feet wide beyond this."

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant '''Portico''' on its northern [front], and a [[piazza|Piaza]] [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* <div id="Miller"></div>[[Lewis Miller|Miller, Lewis]], June 5, 1849, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (c. 1850: 108) <ref> Lewis Miller, ''Orbis Pictus: A Picturesque Album to the Ladies of York, Pennsylvania'', (Williamsburg, Va: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, c. 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XNQR79ST\ view on Zotero.] </ref>[[#Miller_cite|back up to history]]

: "The mansion house itself appears venerable and convenient[.] A lofty '''portico''' ninety-six feet in length, Supported by Eight [[pillar]]s, has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."

===Citations===

* [[A.-J Dézallier d’Argenville|[Dézallier d’Argenville, A.-J.]]], 1712, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' ([1712] 1969: 72) <ref name="Argenville_1712">[A.-J. (Antoine Joseph) Dézallier d'Argenville], ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening; wherein is fully handled all that relates to fine gardens, . . . containing divers plans, and general dispositions of gardens; . . .'' (English-language edition prepared by John James from the 1709 French original and printed in London by Geo. James, 1712. Reprint, Farnborough, England: Gregg, 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ87 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A '''PORTICO''' . . . being the Entrance in Front of a Summer-House, Salon, or [[Arbor]] of Latticework, and is generally adorn'd with a handsome Cornice and Frontispiece, supported by Pilasters or Peers; or else it is a long Decoration of Architecture placed against a [[Wall]], or at the Entrance of a Wood, where the Advances and Returns are but inconsiderable.
<p></p>
: "[[ARBORS]], Cabinets, and '''Porticos''' of Latticework, are commonly made use of to terminate a Garden in the City, and to shut out the Sight of Walls, and other disagreeable Objects; this Kind of Decoration making a handsome Sight, and serving very well to conclude the [[Prospect]] of a principal [[Walk]]."

[[File:1715.jpg|thumb|Fig. 31, [[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a Temple", 1728.]]
* [[James Gibbs|Gibbs, James]], 1728, ''A Book of Architecture'' (n.p.) <ref>James Gibbs, ''A Book of Architecture, Containing Designs of Buildings and Ornaments'', (London: Printed for W. Innys et al., 1728), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZGUVPFG8 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]], made for a Person of Quality, and proposed to have been placed in the Center of four [[Walk]]s; so that a '''Portico''' might front each [[Walk]]." [Fig. 31]

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">[[Ephraim Chambers]], ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[PIAZZA]], in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a '''portico''', or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See '''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or square; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or '''portico's''' around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO''', in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See [[PIAZZA]]. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO'''....
<p></p>
: "The roof is usually vaulted, sometimes flat. The ancients called it '''lacunar'''. See LACUNAR, VAULT, &c.
<p></p>
: "Though the word '''portico''' be derived from ''porta'', gate, door; yet it is applied to any disposition of [[column]]s which form a gallery, without any immediate relation to doors or gates.
<p></p>
: "The most celebrated '''portico's''' of antiquity were those of Solomon's [[temple]], which formed the atrium or court, and encompassed the sanctuary: that of Athens, built for the people to divert themselves in, and wherein the philosophers held their disputes and conversations; which occasioned the disciples of Zeno to be called stoics....
<p></p>
: "Among the modern '''portico's''', the most celebrated is the [[piazza]] of St. Peter of the Vatican.— That of Covent-Garden, London, the work of Inigo Jones, is also much admired."

* [[Samuel Johnson|Johnson, Samuel]], 1755, ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (2:n.p.) <ref name="Johnson_1755">Samuel Johnson, Samuel, ''A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words are Deduced from the Originals and Illustrated in the Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers'', 2 vols. (London: W. Strahan for J. and P. Knapton, 1755) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GE2JPJR3 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PO'RTICO'''. n.s. [''porticus'', Lat. ''portico'', Italian; ''portique'', Fr.] A covered [[walk]]; a [[piazza]]."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31) <ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with arches, in the manner of a gallery. The '''portico''' is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The '''portico''' is a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner. The word seems to refer to the gate or entrance of some place, ''porta'' in Latin signifying a gate; but it is appropriated to a disposition of [[column]]s, forming this kind of gallery, and has no relation to the openings."

* [[William Salmon|Salmon, William]], 1762, ''Palladio Londinensis'' (n.p.)<ref>William Salmon, ''Palladio Londinensis, or The London Art of Building: In Three Parts . . . with Fifty-Four Copper Plates, to Which Is Annexed, The Builder’s Dictionary'', ed. by E. Hoppus, 6th edn (London: Printed for C. Hitch et al, 1762), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IEIQ5QGM view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[Piazza]], in Architecture, commonly called ''Piache'', an ''Italian'' Name for a '''Portico'''; it signifies a broad open Place or Square, whence it became applied to [[Walk]]s or '''Porticos''' of [[Pillar]]s around them, like those of ''Covent Garden'', the ''Royal Exchange'', &c."

* [[Thomas Sheridan|Sheridan, Thomas]], 1789, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref>Thomas A. Sheridan, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language, Carefully Revised and Corrected by John Andrews....'', 5th ed. (Philadelphia: William Young, 1789), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5GU4CBQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', pa'r-ty-ko. s. A covered [[walk]], a [[piazza]]."

* [[William Marshall|Marshall, William]], 1803, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament'' (1:266) <ref>William Marshall, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament: A Practical Treatise. . . .'', 2 vols. (London: G. and W. Nicol, G. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, and W. Davies, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K48D75JJ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "IN extensive grounds, RETREATS, more especially in the remoter parts, are in a degree requisite; and, if they be seen, they ought to harmonize with the views in which they appear; and, of course, the more polished the scene, the more ornamental should be the Retreat,—whether it be the Room, the '''Portico''', or the more simple [[Alcove]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (p. 356)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th edn (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "1809. [[Porch]]es and '''porticoes''' . . . are sometimes employed as decorative marks to the entrances of scenes; and sometimes merely as roofs to shelter seats or resting benches." [See Fig. 27]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticu''s, from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground, or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s; a covered [[walk]]. The roof is sometimes flat; sometimes vaulted. ''Encyc''."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]] 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 848)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'', (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "'''POR'TI-CO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticus'', from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''architecture, originally'', a colonnade or covered ambulatory; but at present, a covered space, inclosed by [[column]]s at the entrance of a building. P. Cyc."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376) <ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero.]</ref> [[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the [[veranda|''veranda'']], or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long [[veranda]] round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of the cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by [[veranda]]s, '''porticoes''', etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

[[File:0780.jpg|thumb|Fig. 32, [[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., 1851.]]
* [[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:14) <ref>William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "On the east side are two bay windows, one on each side of the principal entrance, which has a '''portico''' supported by fluted Corinthian [[column]]s. On the south is a flat-roofed [[piazza]], with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s." [Fig. 32]

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1056.jpg|[[Michael van der Gucht]], ''A Large Portico at the Entrance of Arbor-Work, A Cabinet of Arbor Work open at top, and A Salon for an Entrance of an Arbor'', 1712.
File:1715.jpg|[[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]]", 1728, in ''A Book of Architecture, containing designs of buildings and ornaments'' (1728), pl. 67.
File:1448.jpg|[[Batty Langley]] and [[Thomas Langley]], ''Gothick [sic] Portico'', in ''Gothic Architecture, Improved by Rules and Proportions in many Ground Designs'' (1747), pl. 32.
File:0087.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796.
File:0610.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of the East front of the [[White House|President's House]], with the additions of the North & South Porticos", 1807.
File:1237.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "General Plan of a Marine Asylum and Hospital proposed to be built at Washington", 1812. "Portico" is inscribed at the Western entrance.
File:1221.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Plan of wings and courtyards, South Carolina Insane Asylum, 1821, in John M. Bryan, ed., ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), plate 10. "Portico" is inscribed near the bottom of the plan.
File:1332.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], "Porches and Porticoes", in J.C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of gardening'', (1826), p. 356, fig. 330.
File:0580.jpg|[[Lewis Miller]], "[[Mount Vernon]]", 1835.
File:1227.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Patent Office Wings, 1842, in Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, ''Altogether American: Robert Mills, Architect and Engineer, 1781-1855'' (1994), p. 232, fig. 86b.
File:1225.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], "Projection of the Fire-Proof Buildings for the Navy & War Depts.," c. 1843, in John M. Bryan, ''Robert Mills: America's First Architect'' (2001), p. 249. "Portico" is inscribed on both the north and south entrance.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0826.jpg|[[James Peller Malcolm]], The [[Woodlands]] From the Bridge at Gray's Ferry, c. 1792, in Beth C. Wees and Medill H. Harvey, ''Early American Silver in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'' (2013), p. 259.
File:0341.jpg|George Isham Parkyns, Mount Vernon, 1795.
File:0089.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking towards the South", 1796.
File:0710.jpg|[[J. Weiss]], ''Home of George Washington, "The Father of His Country"'', 1797.
File:0345.jpg|Alexander Robertson (artist), Francis Jukes (engraver), "Mount Vernon in Virginia," 1800.
File:1256.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], West Elevation of the Final Version of Monticello, c. 1803.
File:0344.jpg|[[George Ropes]], ''Mount Vernon'', 1806.
File:0314.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "[[Mount Vernon]], Virginia, the [[Seat]] of the late [[George Washington|Genl. G. Washington]]", 1808.
File:0051.jpg|[[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809.
File:0838.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], ''Monte Video—near Avon'' [detail], c. 1810-1819, in Richard Saunders and Helen Raye, ''Daniel Wadsworth, Patron of the Arts. Hartford'' (1981), p. 56, pl. 16.
File:0551.jpg|John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1811-12.
File:1220.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Front elevation, South Carolina Insane Asylum, c.1820, in John M. Bryan, ed. ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), pl. 7.
File:1051.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], "Monte Video, Approach to the House," in Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (1824), pl. opp. p. 16.
File:0079.jpg|[[Jane Braddick]], ''View of West Front of [[Monticello]] and Garden'', 1825.
File:0646.jpg|Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.
File:0549.jpg|[[Victor De Grailly]], ''View of Mount Vernon'', c.1840–50.
File:0550.jpg|[[Victor de Grailly]], ''Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon'', c.1840-50.
File:0328.jpg|Unknown, "Front View of the Mansion at Mount Vernon", in Franklin Knight ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.14.
File:0329.jpg|Anonymous, A. Kollner (lithographer), "North West View of the Mansion of George Washington Mount Vernon," in Franklin Knight, ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.124.
File:0778.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Italian Bracketed Villa," in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 7.
File:0779.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], South Front Elevation of Italian Bracketed Villa, in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0780.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0334.jpg|Middleton, Strobridge & Co. (engraver), "Mount Vernon, the home of Washington," c. 1861.

File:0836.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], Architectural Details: Gothic Fireplace and Portico

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0190.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Charles Carroll'', c. 1770.
File:0021.jpg|Cornelius Tiebout, "A View of the present Seat of His Excel. the Vice President of the United States", 1790.
File:1229.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Garden temple elevations and floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1230.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Side elevation and basement floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1231.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Lodge - Sections showing interior elevation, c.1795-1799.
File:0083.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], ''Sedgeley'', 1799.
File:0404.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "Elevation of the South front of the President's house, copied from the design as proposed to be altered in 1807," January 1817.
File:0990.jpg|[[Thomas Birch]],''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819.
File:0020.jpg|Mdme. Janika de Feriet, ''The Hermitage'', c. 1820.
File:0739.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], Landsdown, pre 1834.
File:0025.jpg|Robert P. Smith, "View of Washington", 1850.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Portico

2015-07-07T19:39:07Z

K-perkov:

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], [[veranda]], [[porch]], and portico in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "portico" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the porticos. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose. They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views. Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "portico," and "[[piazza]]." Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "portico" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the portico, as opposed to [[piazza]], [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "portico" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
<span id="Smith_cite"></span> Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the portico at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the portico until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible ([[#Smith|view text]]) [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the portico at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) <span id="Downing2_cite"></span>[[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the portico served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it." ([[#Downing2|view text]])
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. [[Lewis Miller|Miller]] noted on his drawing that "A lofty portico ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The portico served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. <span id="Miller_cite"></span> [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty portico . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" ([[#Miller|view text]]) [Fig. 17]. Often the portico was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood portico. As <span id="Warden_cite"></span> [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate." ([[#Warden|view text]])
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
Porticos generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.

--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* Anonymous, 1737, describing in the ''St. Philip's Parish Vestry Book'' St. Philip's Parish, Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "[Workmen recommended the constructions of] a large Cornish under ye eves & round ye '''Porticoes'''."

* [[Charles Carroll|Carroll, Charles]] (the Barrister), July 2, 1767, describing [[Mount Clare]], [[plantation]] of Charles and Margaret Tilghman Carroll, Baltimore, Md. (quoted in Trostel 1981: 34)<ref>Michael Trostel, ''Mount Clare, Being an Account of the Seat Built by Charles Carroll, Barrister, upon His Lands at Patapsco'' (Baltimore: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland, 1981), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NTB2KX7C view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The Plan is for a '''Portico''' or Colonade to be Joined to the Front of a House and Project Eight Feet from it, An [[Arch]] at Both Ends, for a Passage through it, to Spring from Pilasters of Stone Joined to the End [[Pillar]]s of the front of the '''Portico''' and the two three Quarter Round [[Column]]s, I think they Call them, that Run up Close to the wall of the House."

* Anonymous, 1769, describing in the ''Georgia Gazette'' a proposed Presbyterian meetinghouse in Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[The meetinghouse was to be] 80 feet long by 47 feet wide . . . with a handsome light steeple in proportion to the frame, a portico at one end of 50 by 10 feet."

* [[Philip Vickers Fithian|Fithian, Philip Vickers]], March 18, 1774, describing [[Nomini Hall]], Westmoreland County, Va. (1943: 107)<ref>Philip Vickers Fithian, ''Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian, 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion'', ed. by Hunter D. Farish (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, 1943) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XJX4WV8F view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The North side [of [[Nomini Hall|Nomini Hall]]] I think is most beautiful of all; In the upper Story is a Row of seven Windows with eighteen Lights a piece; and below six windows, with the like number of lights; besides a large '''Portico''' in the middle, at the sides of which are two Windows each with eighteen Lights."

* [[Ebenezer Hazard|[Hazard, Ebenezer]], May 31, 1777, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Shelley 1954: 405)<ref> Fred Shelley, "The Journal of Ebenezer Hazard in Virginia, 1777", ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 62 (1954):400-423, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q8VUV2A3: view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Wings are on the West Front, between them is a covered Parade, which reaches from the one to the other; the '''Portico''' is supported by Stone [[Pillar]]s."

* [[Jonathan Clark|Clark, Jonathan]], 1786, describing a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[There was a] fraimed dwelling house 26 by 20 . . . and a '''portico''' the length of the fraimed house five feet wide."

* [[ J. P. Brissot de Warville|Brissot de Warville, J. P.]], 1792, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:61)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I hastened to arrive at [[Mount Vernon]]. . . . after having passed over two hills, you discover a country house of an elegant and majestic simplicity. . . . This house overlooks the Potomack, enjoys an extensive prospect, has a vast and elegant '''portico''' on the front next to the river, and a convenient distribution of the apartments within."

[[File:0087.jpg|thumb|Fig. 29, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796. "The portico faces to the East."]]
* [[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1795, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1799: 207)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "In the center is another very spacious apartment, of an octagon form, reaching from the front to the rear of the house, the large folding glass doors of which, at each end, open under a '''portico'''."

* [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], July 19 1796, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (1977: 1:163) <ref>Benjamin Henry Latrobe, ''The Virginia Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1798'', ed. Edward C. Carter II, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SZEEBG9K view on Zotero]. </ref>

: "The House is connected with the Kitchen offices by [[arcade]]s. . . . Along the other front is a '''portico''' supported by 8 square [[pillar]]s, of good proportions and effect." [Fig. 29]

* Anonymous, 1803, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Fredericksburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 286)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "commodious close [[porch]] in front, and an open '''portico''' in the rear."

* Anonymous, August 9, 1805, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Stafford County, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "FOR LEASE, A Lot of Land. . . . On the above lot there is two convenient Dwelling houses, situate near each other, with two rooms on a floor and a '''portico''' to each, the whole length of the house, and convenient closets."

* [[Joseph Scott|Scott, Joseph]], 1806, describing Centre Square and Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. (p. 25)<ref>Joseph A. Scott, ''Geographical Description of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Printed by R. Cochran, 1806), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/55XKIWPN view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The water-works of Philadelphia are the most extensive of their kind of any in America. . . . The water is discharged into a circular aqueduct, extending along Chestnut and Broad streets, into the middle of Market-street, in the centre square. . . . The building in the centre square, is a square of sixty feet, with a Doric '''portico''' on the east and west fronts. From its centre rises a circular tower, forty feet in diameter. It is covered by a dome. The tower contains the engine and reservoir . . . large enough to contain 20,000 gallons, all the chimnies of the house, which form a marble pedestal, on the summit. The shafts of the [[column]]s of the '''porticos''', consist each of one solid block of marble, 14 feet 9 inches in length, and two feet nine inches in diameter, at the base."[See Fig. 15]

[[File:0051.jpg|thumb|Fig. 30, [[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809]]
* [[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the [[Woodlands]], seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)

: "The Garden consists of a large verdant [[lawn]] surrounded by a belt or [[walk]], & [[shrubbery]] for some distance. the outer side of the [[walk]] is adorned here & there, by scattered forest trees, thick & thin. It is bounded, partly as is described—partly by the Schylkill [''sic''] & a creek exhibiting a Mill & where it is scarcely noticed, by a common post and rail. The [[walk]] is said to be a mile long—perhaps it is something less. one is led in to the garden from the '''portico''', to the east and lefthand. or from the park, by a small gate contiguous to the house. traversing this walk, one sees many beauties of landscape—also a fine statue, symbol of Winter & age." [Fig. 30]

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 20, 1809, describing Philadelphia, Pa. (CWF)

: "The building in Centre Square, is Sixty feet in every direction; having a Doric '''portico''' in front, to the East & West."

* [[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], 1812, describing [[Monticello]], [[plantation]] of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1954: 144) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America: Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. by Richard Beale Davis (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house has two '''porticoes''' of the Doric order, though one of them was not quite completed, and the pediment had in the meanwhile to be supported on the stems of four tulip trees, which are really, when well grown, as beautiful as the fluted shafts of Corinthian [[pillar]]s. They front north and south."

* <div id="Warden"></div>[[David Bailie Warden|Warden, David Bailie]], 1816, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (p. 156)<ref name="Warden_1816">Warden, David Bailie. 1816. ''A Chronographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia''. Paris: Printed and sold by Smith. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF8TXC8D view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Warden_cite|back up to history]]

: "The establishment of George Calvert, Esq. at Bladensburg, attracts attention. His mansion, consisting of two stories, seventy feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth, is admirably adapted to the American climate. On each side there is a large '''portico''', which shelters from the sun, rain, or snow."

* Anonymous, September 30, 1820, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Culpeper County, Va. (CWF)

: "I will sell my tavern establishment . . . consisting of . . . A large and commodious house with four rooms below stairs and eight above, with two large '''porticoes'''—a new smoke house, a new [[icehouse|ice house.]]"

* [[Benjamin Silliman|Silliman, Benjamin]], 1824, describing [[Monte Video]], property of Daniel Wadsworth, Avon, Conn. (p. 12)<ref>Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (New Haven, Conn.: S. Converse, 1824), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B5VWTWM5 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "To the west, the [[lawn]] rises gradually from the water, until it reaches the '''portico''' of the house, near the brow of the mountain, beyond which, the western valley is again seen."

* [[George Ticknor|Ticknor, George]], December 16, 1824, in a letter to William H. Prescott, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (quoted in Jones 1957: 7)<ref name="Jones_1957">Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We were received with a good deal of dignity and much cordiality, by Mr. and Mrs. Madison, in the '''portico''', and immediately placed at ease."

* [[Frederick Douglass|Douglass, Frederick]], 1825, describing Wye House, estate of Col. Edward Lloyd, Talbot County, Md. ([1855] 1987: 47) <ref>Frederick Douglass, ''My Bondage and My Freedom'', ed. by William L. Andrews (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q764CVCK view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The great house itself was a large, white, wooden building, with wings on three sides of it. In front, a large '''portico''', extending the entire length of the building, and supported by a long range of [[column]]s, gave to the whole establishment an air of solemn grandeur."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 2, 1828, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1906: 226) <ref name="Smith_1906">Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The rotunda is in form and proportioned like the Pantheon at Rome. It has a noble '''portico''',— the [[pillars]], cornice, &c of the Corinthian."

* <div id="Smith"></div>[[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 17, 1828, describing Montpelier, plantation of James Madison, Montpelier Station, Va. (1906: 233, 235-36)<ref name="Smith_1906"></ref> [[#Smith_cite|back up to history]]

: "We were at first conducted into the Drawing room, which opens on the back '''Portico''' and thus commands a view through the whole house, which is surrounded with an extensive [[lawn]], as green as in spring; the [[lawn]] is enclosed with fine trees, chiefly forest, but interspersed with weeping willows and other ornamental trees, all of most luxuriant growth and vivid verdure. It was a beautiful scene! . . . After dinner, we all walked in the '''Portico''', (or [[piazza]], which is 60 feet long, supported on six lofty [[pillar]]s) until twilight." [See Fig. 16]

* Anonymous, June 1829, describing [[Sedgeley]], seat of [[James C. Fisher]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (''The Casket'' 4: 265)

: "The mansion was designed and erected under the superintendance of the late Mr. Latrobe, and has been much admired for its architectural beauty. The style is Gothic, with a '''portico''' front and rear, supported by eight [[column]]s each. It presents a length of seventy-five feet, and is well adapted in the arrangement of the interior for a gentleman's residence." [See Fig. 19]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

* [[George William Featherstonhaugh|Featherstonhaugh, George William]], August 18 and 19 1837, describing [[Fort Hill]], seat of John C. Calhoun, Clemson, S.C. (quoted in Jones 1957: 126)<ref name="Jones_1957"></ref>

: "After partaking of an excellent dinner we adjourned for the evening to the '''portico''', where with the aid of a guitar, accompanied by a pleasing voice, and some capital curds and cream, we prolonged a most agreeable conversazione until a late hour. . . .
<p></p>
: "On our return to Fort Hill, the family again assembled in the portico to pass a most agreeable evening."

* [[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "Behind the "Bachelor's Row," and on the upper part of the hill is an imposing edifice of brick, called "Society Hall." It is built of two stories, with a fine '''portico''' of twelve feet wide, running the whole length of the front, and a terrace of twenty feet wide beyond this."

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant '''Portico''' on its northern [front], and a [[piazza|Piaza]] [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* <div id="Miller"></div>[[Lewis Miller|Miller, Lewis]], June 5, 1849, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (c. 1850: 108) <ref> Lewis Miller, ''Orbis Pictus: A Picturesque Album to the Ladies of York, Pennsylvania'', (Williamsburg, Va: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, c. 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XNQR79ST\ view on Zotero.] </ref>[[#Miller_cite|back up to history]]

: "The mansion house itself appears venerable and convenient[.] A lofty '''portico''' ninety-six feet in length, Supported by Eight [[pillar]]s, has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."

===Citations===

* [[A.-J Dézallier d’Argenville|[Dézallier d’Argenville, A.-J.]]], 1712, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' ([1712] 1969: 72) <ref name="Argenville_1712">[A.-J. (Antoine Joseph) Dézallier d'Argenville], ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening; wherein is fully handled all that relates to fine gardens, . . . containing divers plans, and general dispositions of gardens; . . .'' (English-language edition prepared by John James from the 1709 French original and printed in London by Geo. James, 1712. Reprint, Farnborough, England: Gregg, 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ87 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A '''PORTICO''' . . . being the Entrance in Front of a Summer-House, Salon, or [[Arbor]] of Latticework, and is generally adorn'd with a handsome Cornice and Frontispiece, supported by Pilasters or Peers; or else it is a long Decoration of Architecture placed against a [[Wall]], or at the Entrance of a Wood, where the Advances and Returns are but inconsiderable.
<p></p>
: "[[ARBORS]], Cabinets, and '''Porticos''' of Latticework, are commonly made use of to terminate a Garden in the City, and to shut out the Sight of Walls, and other disagreeable Objects; this Kind of Decoration making a handsome Sight, and serving very well to conclude the [[Prospect]] of a principal [[Walk]]."

[[File:1715.jpg|thumb|Fig. 31, [[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a Temple", 1728.]]
* [[James Gibbs|Gibbs, James]], 1728, ''A Book of Architecture'' (n.p.) <ref>James Gibbs, ''A Book of Architecture, Containing Designs of Buildings and Ornaments'', 2nd edn (London: W. Innys and R. Manby, 1739), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Z8U3MQ7H view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]], made for a Person of Quality, and proposed to have been placed in the Center of four [[Walk]]s; so that a '''Portico''' might front each [[Walk]]." [Fig. 31]

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">[[Ephraim Chambers]], ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[PIAZZA]], in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a '''portico''', or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See '''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or square; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or '''portico's''' around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO''', in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See [[PIAZZA]]. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO'''....
<p></p>
: "The roof is usually vaulted, sometimes flat. The ancients called it '''lacunar'''. See LACUNAR, VAULT, &c.
<p></p>
: "Though the word '''portico''' be derived from ''porta'', gate, door; yet it is applied to any disposition of [[column]]s which form a gallery, without any immediate relation to doors or gates.
<p></p>
: "The most celebrated '''portico's''' of antiquity were those of Solomon's [[temple]], which formed the atrium or court, and encompassed the sanctuary: that of Athens, built for the people to divert themselves in, and wherein the philosophers held their disputes and conversations; which occasioned the disciples of Zeno to be called stoics....
<p></p>
: "Among the modern '''portico's''', the most celebrated is the [[piazza]] of St. Peter of the Vatican.— That of Covent-Garden, London, the work of Inigo Jones, is also much admired."

* [[Samuel Johnson|Johnson, Samuel]], 1755, ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (2:n.p.) <ref name="Johnson_1755">Samuel Johnson, Samuel, ''A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words are Deduced from the Originals and Illustrated in the Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers'', 2 vols. (London: W. Strahan for J. and P. Knapton, 1755) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GE2JPJR3 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PO'RTICO'''. n.s. [''porticus'', Lat. ''portico'', Italian; ''portique'', Fr.] A covered [[walk]]; a [[piazza]]."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31) <ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with arches, in the manner of a gallery. The '''portico''' is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The '''portico''' is a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner. The word seems to refer to the gate or entrance of some place, ''porta'' in Latin signifying a gate; but it is appropriated to a disposition of [[column]]s, forming this kind of gallery, and has no relation to the openings."

* [[William Salmon|Salmon, William]], 1762, ''Palladio Londinensis'' (n.p.)<ref>William Salmon, ''Palladio Londinensis, or The London Art of Building: In Three Parts . . . with Fifty-Four Copper Plates, to Which Is Annexed, The Builder’s Dictionary'', ed. by E. Hoppus, 6th edn (London: Printed for C. Hitch et al, 1762), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IEIQ5QGM view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[Piazza]], in Architecture, commonly called ''Piache'', an ''Italian'' Name for a '''Portico'''; it signifies a broad open Place or Square, whence it became applied to [[Walk]]s or '''Porticos''' of [[Pillar]]s around them, like those of ''Covent Garden'', the ''Royal Exchange'', &c."

* [[Thomas Sheridan|Sheridan, Thomas]], 1789, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref>Thomas A. Sheridan, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language, Carefully Revised and Corrected by John Andrews....'', 5th ed. (Philadelphia: William Young, 1789), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5GU4CBQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', pa'r-ty-ko. s. A covered [[walk]], a [[piazza]]."

* [[William Marshall|Marshall, William]], 1803, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament'' (1:266) <ref>William Marshall, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament: A Practical Treatise. . . .'', 2 vols. (London: G. and W. Nicol, G. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, and W. Davies, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K48D75JJ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "IN extensive grounds, RETREATS, more especially in the remoter parts, are in a degree requisite; and, if they be seen, they ought to harmonize with the views in which they appear; and, of course, the more polished the scene, the more ornamental should be the Retreat,—whether it be the Room, the '''Portico''', or the more simple [[Alcove]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (p. 356)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th edn (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "1809. [[Porch]]es and '''porticoes''' . . . are sometimes employed as decorative marks to the entrances of scenes; and sometimes merely as roofs to shelter seats or resting benches." [See Fig. 27]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticu''s, from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground, or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s; a covered [[walk]]. The roof is sometimes flat; sometimes vaulted. ''Encyc''."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]] 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 848)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'', (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "'''POR'TI-CO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticus'', from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''architecture, originally'', a colonnade or covered ambulatory; but at present, a covered space, inclosed by [[column]]s at the entrance of a building. P. Cyc."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376) <ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero.]</ref> [[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the [[veranda|''veranda'']], or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long [[veranda]] round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of the cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by [[veranda]]s, '''porticoes''', etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

[[File:0780.jpg|thumb|Fig. 32, [[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., 1851.]]
* [[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:14) <ref>William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "On the east side are two bay windows, one on each side of the principal entrance, which has a '''portico''' supported by fluted Corinthian [[column]]s. On the south is a flat-roofed [[piazza]], with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s." [Fig. 32]

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1056.jpg|[[Michael van der Gucht]], ''A Large Portico at the Entrance of Arbor-Work, A Cabinet of Arbor Work open at top, and A Salon for an Entrance of an Arbor'', 1712.
File:1715.jpg|[[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]]", 1728, in ''A Book of Architecture, containing designs of buildings and ornaments'' (1728), pl. 67.
File:1448.jpg|[[Batty Langley]] and [[Thomas Langley]], ''Gothick [sic] Portico'', in ''Gothic Architecture, Improved by Rules and Proportions in many Ground Designs'' (1747), pl. 32.
File:0087.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796.
File:0610.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of the East front of the [[White House|President's House]], with the additions of the North & South Porticos", 1807.
File:1237.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "General Plan of a Marine Asylum and Hospital proposed to be built at Washington", 1812. "Portico" is inscribed at the Western entrance.
File:1221.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Plan of wings and courtyards, South Carolina Insane Asylum, 1821, in John M. Bryan, ed., ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), plate 10. "Portico" is inscribed near the bottom of the plan.
File:1332.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], "Porches and Porticoes", in J.C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of gardening'', (1826), p. 356, fig. 330.
File:0580.jpg|[[Lewis Miller]], "[[Mount Vernon]]", 1835.
File:1227.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Patent Office Wings, 1842, in Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, ''Altogether American: Robert Mills, Architect and Engineer, 1781-1855'' (1994), p. 232, fig. 86b.
File:1225.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], "Projection of the Fire-Proof Buildings for the Navy & War Depts.," c. 1843, in John M. Bryan, ''Robert Mills: America's First Architect'' (2001), p. 249. "Portico" is inscribed on both the north and south entrance.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0826.jpg|[[James Peller Malcolm]], The [[Woodlands]] From the Bridge at Gray's Ferry, c. 1792, in Beth C. Wees and Medill H. Harvey, ''Early American Silver in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'' (2013), p. 259.
File:0341.jpg|George Isham Parkyns, Mount Vernon, 1795.
File:0089.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking towards the South", 1796.
File:0710.jpg|[[J. Weiss]], ''Home of George Washington, "The Father of His Country"'', 1797.
File:0345.jpg|Alexander Robertson (artist), Francis Jukes (engraver), "Mount Vernon in Virginia," 1800.
File:1256.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], West Elevation of the Final Version of Monticello, c. 1803.
File:0344.jpg|[[George Ropes]], ''Mount Vernon'', 1806.
File:0314.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "[[Mount Vernon]], Virginia, the [[Seat]] of the late [[George Washington|Genl. G. Washington]]", 1808.
File:0051.jpg|[[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809.
File:0838.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], ''Monte Video—near Avon'' [detail], c. 1810-1819, in Richard Saunders and Helen Raye, ''Daniel Wadsworth, Patron of the Arts. Hartford'' (1981), p. 56, pl. 16.
File:0551.jpg|John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1811-12.
File:1220.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Front elevation, South Carolina Insane Asylum, c.1820, in John M. Bryan, ed. ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), pl. 7.
File:1051.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], "Monte Video, Approach to the House," in Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (1824), pl. opp. p. 16.
File:0079.jpg|[[Jane Braddick]], ''View of West Front of [[Monticello]] and Garden'', 1825.
File:0646.jpg|Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.
File:0549.jpg|[[Victor De Grailly]], ''View of Mount Vernon'', c.1840–50.
File:0550.jpg|[[Victor de Grailly]], ''Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon'', c.1840-50.
File:0328.jpg|Unknown, "Front View of the Mansion at Mount Vernon", in Franklin Knight ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.14.
File:0329.jpg|Anonymous, A. Kollner (lithographer), "North West View of the Mansion of George Washington Mount Vernon," in Franklin Knight, ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.124.
File:0778.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Italian Bracketed Villa," in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 7.
File:0779.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], South Front Elevation of Italian Bracketed Villa, in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0780.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0334.jpg|Middleton, Strobridge & Co. (engraver), "Mount Vernon, the home of Washington," c. 1861.

File:0836.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], Architectural Details: Gothic Fireplace and Portico

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0190.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Charles Carroll'', c. 1770.
File:0021.jpg|Cornelius Tiebout, "A View of the present Seat of His Excel. the Vice President of the United States", 1790.
File:1229.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Garden temple elevations and floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1230.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Side elevation and basement floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1231.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Lodge - Sections showing interior elevation, c.1795-1799.
File:0083.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], ''Sedgeley'', 1799.
File:0404.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "Elevation of the South front of the President's house, copied from the design as proposed to be altered in 1807," January 1817.
File:0990.jpg|[[Thomas Birch]],''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819.
File:0020.jpg|Mdme. Janika de Feriet, ''The Hermitage'', c. 1820.
File:0739.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], Landsdown, pre 1834.
File:0025.jpg|Robert P. Smith, "View of Washington", 1850.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-07T19:31:03Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as <span id="Latrobe1_cite"></span>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805 ([[#Latrobe1|view text]]).
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
<span id="Repton_cite"></span>[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape ([[#Repton|view text]]).

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia ([[#Drayton|view text]]), and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground."([[#M'Mahon|view text]]) By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]]
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms ([[#Johnson|view text]]). Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817, the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."([[#Abercrombie|view text]])

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]],
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]] ([[#Jefferson|view text]]). Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843 ([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, <span id="Repton_cite"></span> [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house ([[#Repton|view text]]). In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]].<span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s ([[#M'Mahon|view text]]). To that same end, <span id="Downing_cite"></span> [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond ([[#Downing|view text]]).

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*<div id="Latrobe1"></div>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)[[#Latrobe1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

*<div id="Repton"></div>[[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Repton_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the '''pleasure ground'''....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* <div id="Downing"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88)[[#Downing_cite|back up to history]] <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-07T19:30:37Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as <span id="Latrobe1_cite"></span>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805 ([[#Latrobe1|view text]]).
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
<span id="Repton_cite"></span>[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape ([[#Repton|view text]]).

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia ([[#Drayton|view text]]), and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground."([[#M'Mahon|view text]]) By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]]
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms ([[#Johnson|view text]]). Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817, the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."([[#Abercrombie|view text]])

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]],
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]] ([[#Jefferson|view text]]). Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, <span id="Repton_cite"></span> [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house ([[#Repton|view text]]). In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]].<span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s ([[#M'Mahon|view text]]). To that same end, <span id="Downing_cite"></span> [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond ([[#Downing|view text]]).

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*<div id="Latrobe1"></div>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)[[#Latrobe1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

*<div id="Repton"></div>[[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Repton_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the '''pleasure ground'''....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* <div id="Downing"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88)[[#Downing_cite|back up to history]] <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Veranda

2015-07-06T14:41:20Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose ([[#Ranlett|view text]]). They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground ([[#Downing2|view text]]). Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett2|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture ([[#Downing1|view text]]).<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:1755.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], Nutt's hive placed in the front of a veranda, in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 714, fig. 307.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room. See detail.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans [Detail], 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.

File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.

Image:0916.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside," in A. J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 122, fig. 45.

File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

Image:0795.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Cottage Villa in the earliest English Style," in [[William H. Ranlett]], ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 60, design 53.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Piazza

2015-07-06T14:39:28Z

K-perkov:

(Piazer, Piazzia)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the piazza, [[veranda]], [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by <span id="Birch_cite"></span> [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the piazza, a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" ([[#Birch|view text]]) [Fig. 1]. The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed piazza, or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> <span id="Latrobe_cite">[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the piazza was known as the gallery ([[#Latrobe|view text]]). Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "piazza" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, <span id="Trollope_cite">[[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the piazza as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America."([[#Trollope|view text]]) Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The piazza was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed piazzas depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "piazza" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the piazza was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the piazza projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having piazzas on all four sides. Both one- and two-story piazzas were also built. Second, "piazza" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height piazza, such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, piazzas linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The piazza's basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A piazza might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as <span id="Martineau_cite"></span>[[Harriet Martineau]] described one in 1835, "draperied with vines."([[#Martineau|view text]]) Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. <span id="Teschemacher_cite"></span> [[James E. Teschemacher]] (1835), however, described and illustrated a piazza with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es.([[#Teschemacher|view text]]) Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the piazzas had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect<span id="Ranlett1_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised piazzas for their "very expressive" purpose. ([[#Ranlett1|view text]]) They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one piazza was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the piazzas might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
<span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [piazzas]." He regarded the absence of a piazza on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.([[#Ranlett2|view text]]) <span id="Downing1_cite"></span> Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a piazza or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "piazza." <span id="Ranlett3_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "piazza" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett3|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and piazzas for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "piazza" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to piazza, [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." ([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.

--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

*Anonymous, June 21 1706, describing in the ''Journals of the House of Burgesses'' construction resolutions in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "Ordered That ye said Henry Cary do cause the pavements in ye '''Piazza''' to be taken up, and new Laid, and yt [sic] the well be filled up and the pavement of ye [[walk]] Leading thereby finished."

*[[Hugh Jones|Jones, Hugh]], 1722, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (1956: 66-67)<ref>Hugh Jones, ''The Present State of Virginia, From Whence Is Inferred a Short View of Maryland and North Carolina'', ed. by Richard L. Morton (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KE293JVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "At the north end runs back a large wing, which is a handsome hall . . . there is a spacious '''piazza''' on the west side, from one wing to the other. It is approached by a good [[walk]], and a grand entrance by steps, with good courts and gardens about it."

* Anonymous, 1756, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' the construction materials needed for the Capitol, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 298)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Wanted about 280 feet of purbeck and 80 feet of balne shrosberry stone for completing the '''piazzas''' of the capitol in Williamsburg."

* Anonymous, October 13, 1757, describing a property for sale in Charleston, S.C. (South Carolina Gazette) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "on a Creek fronting Charles-Town, with a neat pleasant-situated House thereon, having '''Piazzas''' South, West and North, and being about 6 Miles from Charles-Town."

* [[James Iredell|Iredell, James]], 1773, describing Edenton, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "Spoke to Mr. Jones in his ''Piazza'', walked with him in his Garden, but was not asked in to his house."

* [[William Attmore|Attmore, William]], 1787, describing New Bern, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "there are to many of the houses Balconies or '''Piazzas''' in front and sometimes back of the house, this Method of Building is found convenient on account of the great Summer Heats here."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], July 14, 1787, describing Gray's Tavern, Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 1:274)<ref name="Cutler_1987">William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "From this grass [[plat]] we went into a '''piazza''' one story high, next the street, very pleasant, as it is in full [[view]] of the river."

* Anonymous, December 24, 1799, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' a property for sale in Richmond, Va. (CWF)

: "For sale: A house on Shockoe Hill near the Capitol in Richmond. . . . Adjoining this building is a kitchen, laundry, office, coachhouse to hold two carriages, lodging rooms for domestics. This building is connected to the house by a double '''piazza'''."

* [[John Sibley|Sibley, Dr. John]], September 15, 1802, describing the [[plantation]]s along the Mississippi River, in the vicinity of New Orleans, La. (1927: 477)<ref>John Sibley, "The Journal of Dr. Sibley July-October, 1802," ''Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' 10 (1927):474-497, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GFUD923H/q/John%20Sibley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The houses all after the same fashion, one story, wood, large on the ground, a Hall & 4 chambers, '''piazzias''' on all Sides and almost all painted white."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], November 22, 1803, describing the [[Woodlands]], [[seat]] of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:144)<ref name="Cutler_1987"></ref>

: "Near the point of land a superb but ancient house built of stone is situated. In the front, which commands an extensive and most enchanting prospect, is a '''piazza''', supported on large pillars, and furnished with chairs and sofas, like an elegant room."

* <div id="Birch"></div> [[William Russell Birch|Birch, William Russell]], 1808, describing [[York Island]], Long Island, N.Y. (n.p.)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Birch_cite|back up to history]]

: "This [[view]] is taken from the '''piazza''' of the [[seat]] of General Stevens on Long Island, near that extraordinary channel called Hell-gate, on the East river, or sound. The [[view]] was taken in the morning at the rising of the sun, when a glow of light from the arch of Heaven, exhibited to the [[view]] almost innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose, like so many stars in the firmament, upon the face of this beautifully variegated Island. The scene extending [sic] across the North river to the Jersey shore." [See Fig. 1]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], March 1, 1808, describing [[Mount Vernon]], [[plantation]] of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Stein 1993:100)<ref> Susan R. Stein, ''The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SK9WTNIU/q/Stein| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "My [[greenhouse|green house]] is only a '''piazza''' adjoining my study, because I mean it for nothing more than some oranges, Mimosa Farnesiana and a very few things of that kind."

* [[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing Charleston, S.C. (1858: 130)<ref>David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'' (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie, 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A passion for flowers has of late astonishingly increased. Many families in the capital, and several in the country, for some years past have been uncommonly attentive to [[flower garden]]s. Those who cannot command convenient spots of ground have their '''piazzas''', balconies, and windows richly adorned with the beauties of nature far beyond anything that was known in the days their infancy."

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 13, 1809, Moore's Old Ordinary, Halifax, County, Va. (CWF)

: "We breakfasted this morning at a house much celebrated in Virginia, called Moore's old Ordinary. It was decidedly superior to any public house, we had yet stopt at on our Route . . . it was now morning, and many of the young people who remained where seated, or walking for their amusement in the cool shade of a long piazza, enjoying the morning breezes."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, in a letter to his son, [[Rembrandt Peale]], describing Belfield, estate of [[Charles Willson Peale]], Germantown, Pa. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:54-55)<ref>Lillian B. Miller and et al, eds.,''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: Charles Willson Peale: Artist in Revolutionary America, 1735-1791'' Vol. 1; ''Charles Willson Peale, Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810''. Vol 2, Pts. 1-2; ''The Belfield Farm Years, 1810-1820''. Vol. 3; ''The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale''. Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1983-2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a '''Piazer''' extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], Summer 1811, describing Smith's summer retreat, Sidney, near Washington, D.C. (1906: 87)<ref name="Bayard, 1906"> Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I had a table with benches round it in the front '''Piazza''', to which we removed after dinner to eat our desert [''sic'']."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Beaufort, S.C.(2:207)<ref>John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "One peculiarity, however, may be remarked respecting them, which is, that '''piazzas''' are generally attached to their southern front, as well for the convenience of walking therein during the day, as for preventing the sun's too great influence on the interior of the house."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 13, 1816, describing [[Eaglesfield]], country house of [[Robert Egglesof Griffith]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 290)<ref name="Foster_1997">Kathleen A. Foster, ''Captain Watson's Travels in America: The Sketchbooks and Diary of Joshua Rowley Watson, 1772-1818'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J6Q29IVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "You enter the house from a '''Piazza''' 25 feet long, with a [[porch]] in a half circular form, supported by [[pillar]]s, into the hall. . . . The front windows of the eating & drawing rooms reach from near the top of the room to the floor, and open out on a spacious '''Piazza''' 46 ft long and 13 ft wide supported by 6 pillars, the whole front of the house. . . . Near the house is a [[pavilion]] with a '''Piazza''' all round it, it consists of two rooms and well situated for privacy."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 17, 1816, describing [[Belmont Mansion]], estate of [[Judge William Peters]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 292-93)<ref name="Foster_1997"></ref>

: "Bellmont house is old, but is well built of stone and like all the Country houses, has a '''Piazza''' in front. I don't see why those in England should not have the same, which would secure a fine airy walk in all weathers, besides being ornamental to the building."

* <div id="Latrobe"></div>[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe|Latrobe, Mary Elizabeth]], April 18, 1820, describing the home of [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], New Orleans, La. (1951: 181)<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> [[#Latrobe_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our lot is 360 feet and 64 front, the house is up 16 steps with a '''Piazza''' (or Gallery as they call them here) the whole length of the house front and back, there is no entry or passage like our Baltimore houses."

*[[John Fanning Watson|Watson, John Fanning]], 1822-23, describing Cape May, N.J. (1857: 2:541)<ref name="Watson_1857">John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Among our few amusements—we swing—gather curious shells and pebbles upon the strand—walk the '''piazza''', and converse.

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98) <ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a [[verandah]] or '''piazza''', from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."
[[File:1771.jpg|thumb|Fig. 20, Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.]]

*<div id="Trollope"></div>[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1828, describing Cincinnati, Ohio (1832: 1:147)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd edn, 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Trollope_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our cottage had an ample '''piazza''', (a luxury almost universal in the country houses of America), which, shaded by a group of acacias, made a delightful sitting-room."

[[File:1022.jpg|thumb|Fig. 21, Charles Alexandre Lesueur, "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.]]
* [[Sophie Madeleine Du Pont|Du Pont, Sophie Madeleine]], August 9, 1829, describing [[Eleutherian Mills]], estate of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, near Wilmington, Del. (quoted in Low and Hinsley 1987: 93)<ref>Betty-Bright Low and Jacqueline Hinsley, ''Sophie du Pont, A Young Lady in America: Sketches, Diaries, & Letters, 1823-1833'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U2EJBX3K/q/Hinsley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Our new deer, Fanny, is very annoying—She is constantly on the '''piazza''', and seizes every opportunity of rushing into the house, and what is worse, is so tame that there is no frightening her away—Azor encouraged by her example, is almost always on the '''piazza''', and if any thing is left on the entry windows, they seize & devour it—if not, they knock it down." [Fig. 20]

* [[Thomas Say|Say, Thomas]], October 19, 1830, describing his residence in New Harmony, Ind. (Stroud 1992: 227)<ref> Patricia Tyson Stroud, ''Thomas Say: New World Naturalist'', (Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSIE7JGM/q/Stroud| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "In summer, hummingbirds, sometimes three or four at a time, visited the honeysuckle that 'clustered' over his ''''piazza'''.'" [Fig. 21]

* [[James Thacher|Thacher, James]], December 3, 1830, "An Excursion on the Hudson," describing [[Hyde Park]], [[seat]] of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (''New England Farmer'' 9: 156)

: "The mansion house at [[Hyde Park]] is elevated about 200 feet above the surface of the river. With its two wings it presents a noble front of 136 feet, and is two stories above the basement. The centre or principal building, has a '''piazza''' on both fronts; the west front is open to the Hudson, and the east looks over a spacious, beautiful [[lawn]] towards the turnpike from New York to Albany."

* [[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], June 19, 1832, describing Jacksonville, Ill. (1975: 346-47) <ref>William Cullen Bryant, ''The Letters of William Cullen Bryant'' vol. 1, ed. by William Cullen II Bryant and Thomas G. Voss (New York: Fordham University Press, 1975), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3X5XUJ6A view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The dwelling was of the most wretched description. It consisted of but one room about half of which was taken up with beds and cribs. . . . In an enormous fireplace blazed a huge fire . . . the hostess and her daughter were busy in cooking a supper for several travellers who were sitting under a kind of '''piazza''' in front of the house or standing in the [[yard]]. . . . About eleven preparations were made for repose. . . . The floor of the '''piazza''' was also occupied with men wrapped in their blankets."

* [[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81, 231, 243)<ref>Joseph Holt Ingraham, ''The South-west'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1835), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DTFA8CCM view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The house was quadrangular, with a high steep [[Dutch style|Dutch]] roof, immensely large and two stories in height. . . . [It was] built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed [[veranda]]s, supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the '''piazza''' was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side. . . .
<p></p>
: "Around the semi-circular flight of steps, ascending to the '''piazza''' of the dwelling,—the [[column]]s of which were festooned with the golden jasmine and luxuriant multiflora,—stood, in large green vases, a variety of flowers . . . breathing gales of fragrance upon the air. From this point the main [[avenue]] branches to the right and left, into narrower, yet not less beautiful [[walk]]s, which, lined with evergreen and flowering shrubs, completely encircled the cottage. . . .
<p></p>
: "Passing from this [[plantation]] scene through the airy [[hall]] of the dwelling, which opened from '''piazza''' to '''piazza''' through the house, to the front gallery, whose light [[column]]s were wreathed with the delicately leaved Cape-jasmine, rambling woodbine and honeysuckle, a lovelier and more agreeable scene met my eye. I stood almost embowered in the foliage of exotics and native plants, which stood upon the gallery in handsome vases of marble and China-ware. The main [[avenue]] opened a [[vista]] to the river through a paradise of althea, orange, lemon, and olive trees, and [[grove]]s and [[lawn]]s extended on both sides of this lovely spot, 'Where Flora's brightest broidery shone,' terminating at the villas of adjoining [[plantations]]."

* <div id="Martineau"></div>[[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing Jamaica Pond, vicinity of Boston, Mass. (1838: 2:182-83)<ref name="Martineau_1838">Harriet Martineau, ''Retrospect of Western Travel'', 2 vols. (London: Saunders and Otley, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/H2BW5FRU view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Martineau_cite|back up to history]]

: "A cottage on Jamaica Pond, for instance, within an easy ride of Boston, is a luxurious summer abode. I know of one unequalled in its attractions, with its [[flower garden|flower-garden]], its [[lawn]], with banks shelving down to the mere; banks dark with rustling pines, from under whose shade the bright track of the moon may be seen, lying cool on the rippling waters. A boat is moored in the cove at hand. The cottage itself is built for coolness, and its broad '''piazza''' is draperied with vines, which keep out the sun from the shaded parlours."

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1838: 1:200)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "After the service we walked to the University, at the distance, I think, of a little more than a mile from the town. The singular ranges of college buildings are visible from a considerable distance, as they advantageously crown an eminence, presenting the appearance of a '''piazza''' surrounding an oblong [[square]], with the professors' houses rising at regular intervals. We found that the low buildings connecting these larger dwellings were the dormitories of the students; ground-floor apartments opening into the '''piazza''', and designed to serve as places of study as well as sleep." [See Fig. 7]

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing life in the southern United States (1838: 1:219)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "You are then invited to see the house, learning by the way the extent and value of the estate you are visiting, and of the 'force' upon it. You admire the lofty, cool rooms, with their green blinds, and the width of the '''piazzas''' on both sides [of] the house, built to compensate for the want of shade from trees, which cannot be allowed near the dwelling for fear of moschetoes [''sic'']."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1839, "Notices of Gardens and Horticulture, in Salem, Mass," describing [[Elfin Glen]], residence of P. Dodge, Salem, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 5: 404)

: "The cottage stands near the road, and is entered from the west front; on the south end is a '''piazza'''; the drawing-room opens into this, and thence into the garden to an open space, answering somewhat the purpose of a [[terrace]], neatly gravelled."

* Franklin Fire Insurance Company, December 20, 1839, describing [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 57)<ref name="Greiff_1979">Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect, 1810-1865'' (Philadelphia: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z view on Zotero.].</ref>

: "A two Story Stone Building With An [[Arch]] Way for an Entrance to [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] from the Ridge Road.
<p></p>
: "Dimensions: The Whole front including the [[Arch]] is 68 feet; to wit, in the Centre is the [[Arch]] 12 feet Span, On each Side of the [[Arch]] Way is an [[Arch]] '''Piazza'''. Across the building 9 feet wide, the remaining 19 feet on each side of said arches is divided into lodge rooms, 2 each Story at each Side: the Width of Building 26 1/2 feet with a '''Piazza''' on each Side Whole length of the Building; The '''Piazza''' in front next to the Road is 10 feet Wide the One next to the Cemetery is 8 feet wide. The front '''Piazza''' has 4 round frame [[Pillar]]s in front on each side of the [[Arch]]. . . . The floors to all the '''Piazzas''' are faced Sand Stone; The '''Piazza''' under the building on each side of the Entrance has 4 round [[Pillar]]s . . . the [[Arch]]es over the '''Piazzas''' along side of Entrance made in the same way & having block Cornices. There is a cast iron & a wooden laticed Gate to Entrance & a double panel door in front to each '''Piazza''' by the side of the large [[Arch]], plain jambs painted & sanded: there is a similar door way at the other end of said '''Piazzas''' (but no doors hung) with panel jambs . . . from each '''Piazza''' by the Side of the [[Arch]] there is an entrance Door Midway to the lodge rooms 1st Story which leads directly to a Straight Boxed Stairway to 2nd Story."

* [[John Warner Barber|Barber, John Warner]], and [[Henry Howe]], 1841, describing Jefferson Barracks, Sacketts Harbour, N.Y. (p. 211)<ref>John Warner Barber and Henry Howe, ''Historical Collections of the State of New York; Containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state,'' (New York: S. Tuttle, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IUJRUUA5/q/Barber| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The two long ranges of buildings in the distance, facing the spectator, are the officers' quarters. The buildings at each end are the soldiers' barracks. These structures are of limestone ... with neat '''piazzas''' in front, forming three sides of a [[square]], on which is the parade ground."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1841, "Notes made during a Visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c.," describing the residence of James Dundas, Philadelphia, Pa. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 7: 420)

: "The [[conservatory]] as well as the drawing- room, opens into a '''piazza'''."

*[[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "One of these [ranges of chambers] is called "Bachelor's Room", as it consists only of single rooms, not more than twelve feet square, with a door letting in immediately from the public '''piazza''', up and down which everybody walks, so that the door cannot be opened without the whole interior of the room being exposed. Each of these has two windows, less than two feet square, one opening into the '''piazza''', and the other against the rock of the hill beyond."

*[[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], March 6, 1843, describing Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Clarke 1993: 2:150)<ref name="Clarke_1993">Graham Clarke, ed., ''The American Landscape: Literary Sources and Documents'', 3 vols. (East Sussex, England: Helm Information, 1993), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TRGJ9W95 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The city of Charleston strikes the visitor from the North most agreeably. He perceives at once that he is in a different climate. The spacious houses are surrounded with broad '''piazzas''', often a '''piazza''' to each story, for the sake of shade and coolness, and each house generally stands by itself in a garden planted with trees and shrubs, many of which preserve their verdure through the winter."

* [[Charles Evans|Evans, Charles]], 1846, describing [[Friends Asylum for the Insane]], near Frankford, Pa. (p. 10) <ref> Charles Evans, ''An Account of the Asylum'', (Philadelphia: Joseph Rakestraw, 1846), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CKN72CQS/q/Charles%20Evans| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "At the termination of a gravel [[walk]] leading directly from the house through these two gardens, at the distance of about three hundred feet, is an ornamental house, surrounded on all sides by a '''piazza''', fitted up as a library and reading room, and containing numerous specimens of natural history, maps, drawings, &c., &c., affording a most agreeable resort for such patients as may be considered by the physician well enough to enjoy it."

*[[John Notman|Notman, John]], December 26, 1846, describing his designs for the [[Smithsonian Institution]], Washington, D.C. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 117)<ref name="Greiff_1979"></ref>

: "No. I, is the ground plan. . . . On both sides or fronts of the building where strong direct light is neither desirable nor necessary, piazzas are made within the line of [[wall]]s, forming four sheltered ambulatories or cloisters, each 90 feet long by 10 feet wide; they are also passages from one point to another. . . .
<p></p>
: "The halls, corridors, '''piazza''', and [[porch]]es, [are] to be paved." [See Fig. 4]

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant [[''Portico'']] on its northern [front], and a '''''Piaza''''' [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, describing the design for a symmetrical, bracketed cottage ([1850] 1968: 122-23) <ref name="Downing_1850">A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref>
:"The [[veranda]] of this cottage is 8 feet wide and 32 feet long. It is one of the most pleasing forms of bracketed '''piazza''', and is built with but little cost. The whole is of wood; the rafter ''a'' (Fig. 45), being worked fair, and beaded at the angles, as well as the narrow sheathing boards, ''b'', which cover them, and form the underside of the roof." [See Fig. 2]

* [[Rev. C. C. Jones|Jones, Rev. C. C.]], June 5, 1851, in a letter to his wife, Mary Jones, describing [[Hermitage]], estate of [[Andrew Jackson]], Nashville, Tenn. ([1851] 1976: 175)<ref>C. C. Jones, ''A Georgian at Princeton'', ed. by Robert Manson Myers (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, [1851] 1976) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7X6BDD92 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The carriage drew up at the '''piazza''', resembling the [[Mount Vernon]] '''piazza''', paved with limestone flags, and with the fluted [[column]]s running to the cornice above the second story."

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">Ephraim Chambers, ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PIAZZA''', in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a [[portico]], or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See [[PORTICO]].
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or [[square]]; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or [[portico]]'s around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "[[PORTICO]], in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See '''PIAZZA'''."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31)<ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "PORTICO.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with [[arch]]es, in the manner of a gallery. The [[portico]] is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The [[''portico'']] is a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner."

* [[William Prince|Prince, William]], 1828, ''A Short Treatise on Horticulture'' (pp. 145-46)

: "''Sweetbriar, or Eglantine''.—This delightful species of the rose family is well calculated to train against the sides of houses, or up the [[pillar]]s of the '''piazza''', or to intermingle with the vines which entwine bowers, &c."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PIAZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;'' Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered walk supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. Encyc."

[[File:0938.jpg|thumb|Fig. 22, James E. Teschemacher, "A green-house constructed at the centre of a cottage", May 1, 1835.]]
* <div id="Teschemacher"></div>[[James E. Teschemacher|Teschemacher, James E.]], May 1. 1835, "On Horticultural Architecture" (''Horticultural Register'' 1: 159)[[#Teschemacher_cite|back up to history]]

: "The '''piazzas''' of many houses are formed by a continuation of the roof supported by thick [[pillar]]s, which give them a heavy appearance; those in the drawing are intended to represent '''piazzas''', with concave roofs formed of painted floor cloth, fastened on slight wooden rafters, cut with curve desired, then supported by slender [[pillar]]s connected by wooden [[arch]]es with open work; such pillars may be quickly encircled by hardy climbing plants." [Fig. 22]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 824)<ref name="Webster_1848">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'' (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PI-AZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;''; Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "1. In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered [[walk]] supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. ''P. Cyc''.
<p></p>
: "2. In ''Italian'', it denotes a square open space surrounded by buildings. ''Gwilt.''"

[[File:0779.jpg|thumb|Fig. 23, Frances Palmer, "South Front Elevation" of Italian Bracketed Villa at Oswego N.Y., 1851.]]
* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 14, 16-17, 32, 38, 39)<ref name="Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "ROOFS, CORNICE, &c. . . . The first section of main roof to be covered with first quality 3 feet cedar shingles, laid three thick on hard-wood lath; the roofs of the top section, the two wings, the '''piazza''', [[portico]]s, bay and oriel windows, covered with tongued and grooved plank, and overlaid with 'Naylor's patent tinned iron plates,' with ridge joints. . . . principal [[portico]] and '''piazza''' roofs to be supported by eight round fluted Corinthian [[column]]s, with carved caps and turned bases . . . the ceiling of the [[portico]] and '''piazza''', of narrow, clear boards; the filling below the several floors of '''piazza''', gallery and [[veranda]] to be open work.
<p></p>
: "On the south is a flat-roofed '''piazza''', with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s. . . . [Fig. 23]
<p></p>
: "the absence of a '''piazza''', the lack of all ornamentation, of vines and [[shrubbery]] [of a house recently erected in the suburbs of N.Y.], bespeak a degree of ignorance of the means of enjoyment, of niggardliness and contracted views, that ere long will be looked upon with incredulity."

* <div id="Ranlett1"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name="Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett1_cite|back up to history]]

: "[[Veranda]]s, '''piazzas''' and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 357-58)<ref name="Downing_1850"></ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the [[veranda]], or ''piazza''. In a cool climate, like that of England, the [[veranda]] is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a [[veranda]] is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without [[verandas]]. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the [[veranda]] should find its place; or, if not an architectural [[veranda]], then, at least, the [[arbor]]-[[veranda]], covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no [[veranda]]-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* <div id="Ranlett3"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett3_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a '''piazza'''; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a [[veranda]]. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking '''piazzas''' on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1732.jpg|Batty and Thomas Langley, "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's," in [[Batty Langley]], ''Gothic Architecture'' (1747), pl. 29.
File:0461.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of Bath (Berkeley Springs), Va., 1787. Plan lists "bb" as "two Piazzas with [[seat]]s".
File:0069.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]], 1787. See Detail.
File:0069_Detail3.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]] [detail], 1787. "Piazza 18 feet high" is inscribed at the top of the detail.
File:1219.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Joseph Hand Villa, 1807. "Piazza" is inscribed on the principal story.
File:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.
File:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.
File:0720.jpg|[[Charles Bulfinch]], "Joseph Barrell House remodeled as McLean Hospital", 1817. "Covered piazza" is inscribed on either side of the upper [[terrace]].
File:0597.jpg|William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826.
File:1254.jpg|[[John Notman]], "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846. "Piazza" is inscribed near the front of of the building on either side of the "Hall of Entrance" and at the back of the building on either side of the "Principal Stair".

</gallery>

=== Associated===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1771.jpg|Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.
File:0505.jpg|Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826.
File:1022.jpg|[[Charles Alexandre Lesueur]], "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.
File:0320.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808, in William Russell Birch and Emily Cooperman, ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 75, pl. 17.

Image:0916.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside," in A. J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 122, fig. 45.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0272.jpg|[[Ralph Earl]], ''Captain Elijah Dewey'', 1798.
File:0233.jpg|[[Charles Fraser]], ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, Seat of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Piazza

2015-07-06T14:37:34Z

K-perkov:

(Piazer, Piazzia)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the piazza, [[veranda]], [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by <span id="Birch_cite"></span> [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the piazza, a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" ([[#Birch|view text]]) [Fig. 1]. The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed piazza, or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> <span id="Latrobe_cite">[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the piazza was known as the gallery ([[#Latrobe|view text]]). Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "piazza" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, <span id="Trollope_cite">[[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the piazza as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America."([[#Trollope|view text]]) Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The piazza was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed piazzas depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "piazza" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the piazza was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the piazza projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having piazzas on all four sides. Both one- and two-story piazzas were also built. Second, "piazza" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height piazza, such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, piazzas linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The piazza's basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A piazza might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as <span id="Martineau_cite"></span>[[Harriet Martineau]] described one in 1835, "draperied with vines."([[#Martineau|view text]]) Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. <span id="Teschemacher_cite"></span> [[James E. Teschemacher]] (1835), however, described and illustrated a piazza with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es.([[#Teschemacher|view text]]) Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the piazzas had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect<span id="Ranlett1_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised piazzas for their "very expressive" purpose. ([[#Ranlett1|view text]]) They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one piazza was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the piazzas might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
<span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [piazzas]." He regarded the absence of a piazza on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.([[#Ranlett2|view text]]) <span id="Downing1_cite"></span> Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a piazza or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "piazza." <span id="Ranlett3_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "piazza" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett3|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and piazzas for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "piazza" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to piazza, [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." ([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.

--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

*Anonymous, June 21 1706, describing in the ''Journals of the House of Burgesses'' construction resolutions in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "Ordered That ye said Henry Cary do cause the pavements in ye '''Piazza''' to be taken up, and new Laid, and yt [sic] the well be filled up and the pavement of ye [[walk]] Leading thereby finished."

*[[Hugh Jones|Jones, Hugh]], 1722, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (1956: 66-67)<ref>Hugh Jones, ''The Present State of Virginia, From Whence Is Inferred a Short View of Maryland and North Carolina'', ed. by Richard L. Morton (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KE293JVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "At the north end runs back a large wing, which is a handsome hall . . . there is a spacious '''piazza''' on the west side, from one wing to the other. It is approached by a good [[walk]], and a grand entrance by steps, with good courts and gardens about it."

* Anonymous, 1756, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' the construction materials needed for the Capitol, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 298)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Wanted about 280 feet of purbeck and 80 feet of balne shrosberry stone for completing the '''piazzas''' of the capitol in Williamsburg."

* Anonymous, October 13, 1757, describing a property for sale in Charleston, S.C. (South Carolina Gazette) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "on a Creek fronting Charles-Town, with a neat pleasant-situated House thereon, having '''Piazzas''' South, West and North, and being about 6 Miles from Charles-Town."

* [[James Iredell|Iredell, James]], 1773, describing Edenton, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "Spoke to Mr. Jones in his ''Piazza'', walked with him in his Garden, but was not asked in to his house."

* [[William Attmore|Attmore, William]], 1787, describing New Bern, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "there are to many of the houses Balconies or '''Piazzas''' in front and sometimes back of the house, this Method of Building is found convenient on account of the great Summer Heats here."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], July 14, 1787, describing Gray's Tavern, Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 1:274)<ref name="Cutler_1987">William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "From this grass [[plat]] we went into a '''piazza''' one story high, next the street, very pleasant, as it is in full [[view]] of the river."

* Anonymous, December 24, 1799, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' a property for sale in Richmond, Va. (CWF)

: "For sale: A house on Shockoe Hill near the Capitol in Richmond. . . . Adjoining this building is a kitchen, laundry, office, coachhouse to hold two carriages, lodging rooms for domestics. This building is connected to the house by a double '''piazza'''."

* [[John Sibley|Sibley, Dr. John]], September 15, 1802, describing the [[plantation]]s along the Mississippi River, in the vicinity of New Orleans, La. (1927: 477)<ref>John Sibley, "The Journal of Dr. Sibley July-October, 1802," ''Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' 10 (1927):474-497, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GFUD923H/q/John%20Sibley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The houses all after the same fashion, one story, wood, large on the ground, a Hall & 4 chambers, '''piazzias''' on all Sides and almost all painted white."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], November 22, 1803, describing the [[Woodlands]], [[seat]] of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:144)<ref name="Cutler_1987"></ref>

: "Near the point of land a superb but ancient house built of stone is situated. In the front, which commands an extensive and most enchanting prospect, is a '''piazza''', supported on large pillars, and furnished with chairs and sofas, like an elegant room."

* <div id="Birch"></div> [[William Russell Birch|Birch, William Russell]], 1808, describing [[York Island]], Long Island, N.Y. (n.p.)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Birch_cite|back up to history]]

: "This [[view]] is taken from the '''piazza''' of the [[seat]] of General Stevens on Long Island, near that extraordinary channel called Hell-gate, on the East river, or sound. The [[view]] was taken in the morning at the rising of the sun, when a glow of light from the arch of Heaven, exhibited to the [[view]] almost innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose, like so many stars in the firmament, upon the face of this beautifully variegated Island. The scene extending [sic] across the North river to the Jersey shore." [See Fig. 1]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], March 1, 1808, describing [[Mount Vernon]], [[plantation]] of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Stein 1993:100)<ref> Susan R. Stein, ''The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SK9WTNIU/q/Stein| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "My [[greenhouse|green house]] is only a '''piazza''' adjoining my study, because I mean it for nothing more than some oranges, Mimosa Farnesiana and a very few things of that kind."

* [[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing Charleston, S.C. (1858: 130)<ref>David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'' (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie, 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A passion for flowers has of late astonishingly increased. Many families in the capital, and several in the country, for some years past have been uncommonly attentive to [[flower garden]]s. Those who cannot command convenient spots of ground have their '''piazzas''', balconies, and windows richly adorned with the beauties of nature far beyond anything that was known in the days their infancy."

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 13, 1809, Moore's Old Ordinary, Halifax, County, Va. (CWF)

: "We breakfasted this morning at a house much celebrated in Virginia, called Moore's old Ordinary. It was decidedly superior to any public house, we had yet stopt at on our Route . . . it was now morning, and many of the young people who remained where seated, or walking for their amusement in the cool shade of a long piazza, enjoying the morning breezes."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, in a letter to his son, [[Rembrandt Peale]], describing Belfield, estate of [[Charles Willson Peale]], Germantown, Pa. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:54-55)<ref>Lillian B. Miller and et al, eds.,''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: Charles Willson Peale: Artist in Revolutionary America, 1735-1791'' Vol. 1; ''Charles Willson Peale, Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810''. Vol 2, Pts. 1-2; ''The Belfield Farm Years, 1810-1820''. Vol. 3; ''The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale''. Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1983-2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a '''Piazer''' extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], Summer 1811, describing Smith's summer retreat, Sidney, near Washington, D.C. (1906: 87)<ref name="Bayard, 1906"> Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I had a table with benches round it in the front '''Piazza''', to which we removed after dinner to eat our desert [''sic'']."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Beaufort, S.C.(2:207)<ref>John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "One peculiarity, however, may be remarked respecting them, which is, that '''piazzas''' are generally attached to their southern front, as well for the convenience of walking therein during the day, as for preventing the sun's too great influence on the interior of the house."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 13, 1816, describing [[Eaglesfield]], country house of [[Robert Egglesof Griffith]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 290)<ref name="Foster_1997">Kathleen A. Foster, ''Captain Watson's Travels in America: The Sketchbooks and Diary of Joshua Rowley Watson, 1772-1818'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J6Q29IVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "You enter the house from a '''Piazza''' 25 feet long, with a [[porch]] in a half circular form, supported by [[pillar]]s, into the hall. . . . The front windows of the eating & drawing rooms reach from near the top of the room to the floor, and open out on a spacious '''Piazza''' 46 ft long and 13 ft wide supported by 6 pillars, the whole front of the house. . . . Near the house is a [[pavilion]] with a '''Piazza''' all round it, it consists of two rooms and well situated for privacy."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 17, 1816, describing [[Belmont Mansion]], estate of [[Judge William Peters]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 292-93)<ref name="Foster_1997"></ref>

: "Bellmont house is old, but is well built of stone and like all the Country houses, has a '''Piazza''' in front. I don't see why those in England should not have the same, which would secure a fine airy walk in all weathers, besides being ornamental to the building."

* <div id="Latrobe"></div>[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe|Latrobe, Mary Elizabeth]], April 18, 1820, describing the home of [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], New Orleans, La. (1951: 181)<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> [[#Latrobe_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our lot is 360 feet and 64 front, the house is up 16 steps with a '''Piazza''' (or Gallery as they call them here) the whole length of the house front and back, there is no entry or passage like our Baltimore houses."

*[[John Fanning Watson|Watson, John Fanning]], 1822-23, describing Cape May, N.J. (1857: 2:541)<ref name="Watson_1857">John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Among our few amusements—we swing—gather curious shells and pebbles upon the strand—walk the '''piazza''', and converse.

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98) <ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a [[verandah]] or '''piazza''', from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."
[[File:1771.jpg|thumb|Fig. 20, Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.]]

*<div id="Trollope"></div>[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1828, describing Cincinnati, Ohio (1832: 1:147)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd edn, 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Trollope_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our cottage had an ample '''piazza''', (a luxury almost universal in the country houses of America), which, shaded by a group of acacias, made a delightful sitting-room."

[[File:1022.jpg|thumb|Fig. 21, Charles Alexandre Lesueur, "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.]]
* [[Sophie Madeleine Du Pont|Du Pont, Sophie Madeleine]], August 9, 1829, describing [[Eleutherian Mills]], estate of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, near Wilmington, Del. (quoted in Low and Hinsley 1987: 93)<ref>Betty-Bright Low and Jacqueline Hinsley, ''Sophie du Pont, A Young Lady in America: Sketches, Diaries, & Letters, 1823-1833'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U2EJBX3K/q/Hinsley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Our new deer, Fanny, is very annoying—She is constantly on the '''piazza''', and seizes every opportunity of rushing into the house, and what is worse, is so tame that there is no frightening her away—Azor encouraged by her example, is almost always on the '''piazza''', and if any thing is left on the entry windows, they seize & devour it—if not, they knock it down." [Fig. 20]

* [[Thomas Say|Say, Thomas]], October 19, 1830, describing his residence in New Harmony, Ind. (Stroud 1992: 227)<ref> Patricia Tyson Stroud, ''Thomas Say: New World Naturalist'', (Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSIE7JGM/q/Stroud| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "In summer, hummingbirds, sometimes three or four at a time, visited the honeysuckle that 'clustered' over his ''''piazza'''.'" [Fig. 21]

* [[James Thacher|Thacher, James]], December 3, 1830, "An Excursion on the Hudson," describing [[Hyde Park]], [[seat]] of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (''New England Farmer'' 9: 156)

: "The mansion house at [[Hyde Park]] is elevated about 200 feet above the surface of the river. With its two wings it presents a noble front of 136 feet, and is two stories above the basement. The centre or principal building, has a '''piazza''' on both fronts; the west front is open to the Hudson, and the east looks over a spacious, beautiful [[lawn]] towards the turnpike from New York to Albany."

* [[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], June 19, 1832, describing Jacksonville, Ill. (1975: 346-47) <ref>William Cullen Bryant, ''The Letters of William Cullen Bryant'' vol. 1, ed. by William Cullen II Bryant and Thomas G. Voss (New York: Fordham University Press, 1975), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3X5XUJ6A view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The dwelling was of the most wretched description. It consisted of but one room about half of which was taken up with beds and cribs. . . . In an enormous fireplace blazed a huge fire . . . the hostess and her daughter were busy in cooking a supper for several travellers who were sitting under a kind of '''piazza''' in front of the house or standing in the [[yard]]. . . . About eleven preparations were made for repose. . . . The floor of the '''piazza''' was also occupied with men wrapped in their blankets."

* [[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81, 231, 243)<ref>Joseph Holt Ingraham, ''The South-west'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1835), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DTFA8CCM view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The house was quadrangular, with a high steep [[Dutch style|Dutch]] roof, immensely large and two stories in height. . . . [It was] built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed [[veranda]]s, supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the '''piazza''' was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side. . . .
<p></p>
: "Around the semi-circular flight of steps, ascending to the '''piazza''' of the dwelling,—the [[column]]s of which were festooned with the golden jasmine and luxuriant multiflora,—stood, in large green vases, a variety of flowers . . . breathing gales of fragrance upon the air. From this point the main [[avenue]] branches to the right and left, into narrower, yet not less beautiful [[walk]]s, which, lined with evergreen and flowering shrubs, completely encircled the cottage. . . .
<p></p>
: "Passing from this [[plantation]] scene through the airy [[hall]] of the dwelling, which opened from '''piazza''' to '''piazza''' through the house, to the front gallery, whose light [[column]]s were wreathed with the delicately leaved Cape-jasmine, rambling woodbine and honeysuckle, a lovelier and more agreeable scene met my eye. I stood almost embowered in the foliage of exotics and native plants, which stood upon the gallery in handsome vases of marble and China-ware. The main [[avenue]] opened a [[vista]] to the river through a paradise of althea, orange, lemon, and olive trees, and [[grove]]s and [[lawn]]s extended on both sides of this lovely spot, 'Where Flora's brightest broidery shone,' terminating at the villas of adjoining [[plantations]]."

* <div id="Martineau"></div>[[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing Jamaica Pond, vicinity of Boston, Mass. (1838: 2:182-83)<ref name="Martineau_1838">Harriet Martineau, ''Retrospect of Western Travel'', 2 vols. (London: Saunders and Otley, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/H2BW5FRU view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Martineau_cite|back up to history]]

: "A cottage on Jamaica Pond, for instance, within an easy ride of Boston, is a luxurious summer abode. I know of one unequalled in its attractions, with its [[flower garden|flower-garden]], its [[lawn]], with banks shelving down to the mere; banks dark with rustling pines, from under whose shade the bright track of the moon may be seen, lying cool on the rippling waters. A boat is moored in the cove at hand. The cottage itself is built for coolness, and its broad '''piazza''' is draperied with vines, which keep out the sun from the shaded parlours."

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1838: 1:200)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "After the service we walked to the University, at the distance, I think, of a little more than a mile from the town. The singular ranges of college buildings are visible from a considerable distance, as they advantageously crown an eminence, presenting the appearance of a '''piazza''' surrounding an oblong [[square]], with the professors' houses rising at regular intervals. We found that the low buildings connecting these larger dwellings were the dormitories of the students; ground-floor apartments opening into the '''piazza''', and designed to serve as places of study as well as sleep." [See Fig. 7]

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing life in the southern United States (1838: 1:219)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "You are then invited to see the house, learning by the way the extent and value of the estate you are visiting, and of the 'force' upon it. You admire the lofty, cool rooms, with their green blinds, and the width of the '''piazzas''' on both sides [of] the house, built to compensate for the want of shade from trees, which cannot be allowed near the dwelling for fear of moschetoes [''sic'']."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1839, "Notices of Gardens and Horticulture, in Salem, Mass," describing [[Elfin Glen]], residence of P. Dodge, Salem, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 5: 404)

: "The cottage stands near the road, and is entered from the west front; on the south end is a '''piazza'''; the drawing-room opens into this, and thence into the garden to an open space, answering somewhat the purpose of a [[terrace]], neatly gravelled."

* Franklin Fire Insurance Company, December 20, 1839, describing [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 57)<ref name="Greiff_1979">Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect, 1810-1865'' (Philadelphia: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z view on Zotero.].</ref>

: "A two Story Stone Building With An [[Arch]] Way for an Entrance to [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] from the Ridge Road.
<p></p>
: "Dimensions: The Whole front including the [[Arch]] is 68 feet; to wit, in the Centre is the [[Arch]] 12 feet Span, On each Side of the [[Arch]] Way is an [[Arch]] '''Piazza'''. Across the building 9 feet wide, the remaining 19 feet on each side of said arches is divided into lodge rooms, 2 each Story at each Side: the Width of Building 26 1/2 feet with a '''Piazza''' on each Side Whole length of the Building; The '''Piazza''' in front next to the Road is 10 feet Wide the One next to the Cemetery is 8 feet wide. The front '''Piazza''' has 4 round frame [[Pillar]]s in front on each side of the [[Arch]]. . . . The floors to all the '''Piazzas''' are faced Sand Stone; The '''Piazza''' under the building on each side of the Entrance has 4 round [[Pillar]]s . . . the [[Arch]]es over the '''Piazzas''' along side of Entrance made in the same way & having block Cornices. There is a cast iron & a wooden laticed Gate to Entrance & a double panel door in front to each '''Piazza''' by the side of the large [[Arch]], plain jambs painted & sanded: there is a similar door way at the other end of said '''Piazzas''' (but no doors hung) with panel jambs . . . from each '''Piazza''' by the Side of the [[Arch]] there is an entrance Door Midway to the lodge rooms 1st Story which leads directly to a Straight Boxed Stairway to 2nd Story."

* [[John Warner Barber|Barber, John Warner]], and [[Henry Howe]], 1841, describing Jefferson Barracks, Sacketts Harbour, N.Y. (p. 211)<ref>John Warner Barber and Henry Howe, ''Historical Collections of the State of New York; Containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state,'' (New York: S. Tuttle, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IUJRUUA5/q/Barber| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The two long ranges of buildings in the distance, facing the spectator, are the officers' quarters. The buildings at each end are the soldiers' barracks. These structures are of limestone ... with neat '''piazzas''' in front, forming three sides of a [[square]], on which is the parade ground."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1841, "Notes made during a Visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c.," describing the residence of James Dundas, Philadelphia, Pa. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 7: 420)

: "The [[conservatory]] as well as the drawing- room, opens into a '''piazza'''."

*[[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "One of these [ranges of chambers] is called "Bachelor's Room", as it consists only of single rooms, not more than twelve feet square, with a door letting in immediately from the public '''piazza''', up and down which everybody walks, so that the door cannot be opened without the whole interior of the room being exposed. Each of these has two windows, less than two feet square, one opening into the '''piazza''', and the other against the rock of the hill beyond."

*[[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], March 6, 1843, describing Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Clarke 1993: 2:150)<ref name="Clarke_1993">Graham Clarke, ed., ''The American Landscape: Literary Sources and Documents'', 3 vols. (East Sussex, England: Helm Information, 1993), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TRGJ9W95 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The city of Charleston strikes the visitor from the North most agreeably. He perceives at once that he is in a different climate. The spacious houses are surrounded with broad '''piazzas''', often a '''piazza''' to each story, for the sake of shade and coolness, and each house generally stands by itself in a garden planted with trees and shrubs, many of which preserve their verdure through the winter."

* [[Charles Evans|Evans, Charles]], 1846, describing [[Friends Asylum for the Insane]], near Frankford, Pa. (p. 10) <ref> Charles Evans, ''An Account of the Asylum'', (Philadelphia: Joseph Rakestraw, 1846), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CKN72CQS/q/Charles%20Evans| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "At the termination of a gravel [[walk]] leading directly from the house through these two gardens, at the distance of about three hundred feet, is an ornamental house, surrounded on all sides by a '''piazza''', fitted up as a library and reading room, and containing numerous specimens of natural history, maps, drawings, &c., &c., affording a most agreeable resort for such patients as may be considered by the physician well enough to enjoy it."

*[[John Notman|Notman, John]], December 26, 1846, describing his designs for the [[Smithsonian Institution]], Washington, D.C. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 117)<ref name="Greiff_1979"></ref>

: "No. I, is the ground plan. . . . On both sides or fronts of the building where strong direct light is neither desirable nor necessary, piazzas are made within the line of [[wall]]s, forming four sheltered ambulatories or cloisters, each 90 feet long by 10 feet wide; they are also passages from one point to another. . . .
<p></p>
: "The halls, corridors, '''piazza''', and [[porch]]es, [are] to be paved." [See Fig. 4]

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant [[''Portico'']] on its northern [front], and a '''''Piaza''''' [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* <div id="Downing1"></div> [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, describing the design for a symmetrical, bracketed cottage ([1850] 1968: 122-23) <ref name="Downing_1850">A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]
:"The [[veranda]] of this cottage is 8 feet wide and 32 feet long. It is one of the most pleasing forms of bracketed '''piazza''', and is built with but little cost. The whole is of wood; the rafter ''a'' (Fig. 45), being worked fair, and beaded at the angles, as well as the narrow sheathing boards, ''b'', which cover them, and form the underside of the roof." [See Fig. 2]

* [[Rev. C. C. Jones|Jones, Rev. C. C.]], June 5, 1851, in a letter to his wife, Mary Jones, describing [[Hermitage]], estate of [[Andrew Jackson]], Nashville, Tenn. ([1851] 1976: 175)<ref>C. C. Jones, ''A Georgian at Princeton'', ed. by Robert Manson Myers (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, [1851] 1976) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7X6BDD92 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The carriage drew up at the '''piazza''', resembling the [[Mount Vernon]] '''piazza''', paved with limestone flags, and with the fluted [[column]]s running to the cornice above the second story."

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">Ephraim Chambers, ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PIAZZA''', in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a [[portico]], or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See [[PORTICO]].
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or [[square]]; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or [[portico]]'s around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "[[PORTICO]], in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See '''PIAZZA'''."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31)<ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "PORTICO.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with [[arch]]es, in the manner of a gallery. The [[portico]] is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The [[''portico'']] is a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner."

* [[William Prince|Prince, William]], 1828, ''A Short Treatise on Horticulture'' (pp. 145-46)

: "''Sweetbriar, or Eglantine''.—This delightful species of the rose family is well calculated to train against the sides of houses, or up the [[pillar]]s of the '''piazza''', or to intermingle with the vines which entwine bowers, &c."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PIAZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;'' Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered walk supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. Encyc."

[[File:0938.jpg|thumb|Fig. 22, James E. Teschemacher, "A green-house constructed at the centre of a cottage", May 1, 1835.]]
* <div id="Teschemacher"></div>[[James E. Teschemacher|Teschemacher, James E.]], May 1. 1835, "On Horticultural Architecture" (''Horticultural Register'' 1: 159)[[#Teschemacher_cite|back up to history]]

: "The '''piazzas''' of many houses are formed by a continuation of the roof supported by thick [[pillar]]s, which give them a heavy appearance; those in the drawing are intended to represent '''piazzas''', with concave roofs formed of painted floor cloth, fastened on slight wooden rafters, cut with curve desired, then supported by slender [[pillar]]s connected by wooden [[arch]]es with open work; such pillars may be quickly encircled by hardy climbing plants." [Fig. 22]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 824)<ref name="Webster_1848">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'' (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PI-AZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;''; Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "1. In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered [[walk]] supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. ''P. Cyc''.
<p></p>
: "2. In ''Italian'', it denotes a square open space surrounded by buildings. ''Gwilt.''"

[[File:0779.jpg|thumb|Fig. 23, Frances Palmer, "South Front Elevation" of Italian Bracketed Villa at Oswego N.Y., 1851.]]
* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 14, 16-17, 32, 38, 39)<ref name="Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "ROOFS, CORNICE, &c. . . . The first section of main roof to be covered with first quality 3 feet cedar shingles, laid three thick on hard-wood lath; the roofs of the top section, the two wings, the '''piazza''', [[portico]]s, bay and oriel windows, covered with tongued and grooved plank, and overlaid with 'Naylor's patent tinned iron plates,' with ridge joints. . . . principal [[portico]] and '''piazza''' roofs to be supported by eight round fluted Corinthian [[column]]s, with carved caps and turned bases . . . the ceiling of the [[portico]] and '''piazza''', of narrow, clear boards; the filling below the several floors of '''piazza''', gallery and [[veranda]] to be open work.
<p></p>
: "On the south is a flat-roofed '''piazza''', with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s. . . . [Fig. 23]
<p></p>
: "the absence of a '''piazza''', the lack of all ornamentation, of vines and [[shrubbery]] [of a house recently erected in the suburbs of N.Y.], bespeak a degree of ignorance of the means of enjoyment, of niggardliness and contracted views, that ere long will be looked upon with incredulity."

* <div id="Ranlett1"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name="Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett1_cite|back up to history]]

: "[[Veranda]]s, '''piazzas''' and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 357-58)<ref name="Downing_1850"></ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the [[veranda]], or ''piazza''. In a cool climate, like that of England, the [[veranda]] is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a [[veranda]] is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without [[verandas]]. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the [[veranda]] should find its place; or, if not an architectural [[veranda]], then, at least, the [[arbor]]-[[veranda]], covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no [[veranda]]-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* <div id="Ranlett3"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett3_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a '''piazza'''; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a [[veranda]]. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking '''piazzas''' on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1732.jpg|Batty and Thomas Langley, "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's," in [[Batty Langley]], ''Gothic Architecture'' (1747), pl. 29.
File:0461.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of Bath (Berkeley Springs), Va., 1787. Plan lists "bb" as "two Piazzas with [[seat]]s".
File:0069.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]], 1787. See Detail.
File:0069_Detail3.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]] [detail], 1787. "Piazza 18 feet high" is inscribed at the top of the detail.
File:1219.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Joseph Hand Villa, 1807. "Piazza" is inscribed on the principal story.
File:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.
File:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.
File:0720.jpg|[[Charles Bulfinch]], "Joseph Barrell House remodeled as McLean Hospital", 1817. "Covered piazza" is inscribed on either side of the upper [[terrace]].
File:0597.jpg|William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826.
File:1254.jpg|[[John Notman]], "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846. "Piazza" is inscribed near the front of of the building on either side of the "Hall of Entrance" and at the back of the building on either side of the "Principal Stair".

</gallery>

=== Associated===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1771.jpg|Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.
File:0505.jpg|Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826.
File:1022.jpg|[[Charles Alexandre Lesueur]], "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.
File:0320.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808, in William Russell Birch and Emily Cooperman, ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 75, pl. 17.

Image:0916.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside," in A. J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 122, fig. 45.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0272.jpg|[[Ralph Earl]], ''Captain Elijah Dewey'', 1798.
File:0233.jpg|[[Charles Fraser]], ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, Seat of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Piazza

2015-07-02T21:23:58Z

K-perkov:

(Piazer, Piazzia)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the piazza, [[veranda]], [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by <span id="Birch_cite"></span> [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the piazza, a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" ([[#Birch|view text]]) [Fig. 1]. The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed piazza, or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> <span id="Latrobe_cite">[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the piazza was known as the gallery ([[#Latrobe|view text]]). Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "piazza" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, <span id="Trollope_cite">[[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the piazza as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America."([[#Trollope|view text]]) Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The piazza was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed piazzas depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "piazza" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the piazza was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the piazza projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having piazzas on all four sides. Both one- and two-story piazzas were also built. Second, "piazza" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height piazza, such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, piazzas linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The piazza's basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A piazza might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as <span id="Martineau_cite"></span>[[Harriet Martineau]] described one in 1835, "draperied with vines."([[#Martineau|view text]]) Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. <span id="Teschemacher_cite"></span> [[James E. Teschemacher]] (1835), however, described and illustrated a piazza with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es.([[#Teschemacher|view text]]) Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the piazzas had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect<span id="Ranlett1_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised piazzas for their "very expressive" purpose. ([[#Ranlett1|view text]]) They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one piazza was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the piazzas might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
<span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [piazzas]." He regarded the absence of a piazza on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.([[#Ranlett2|view text]]) <span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a piazza or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "piazza." <span id="Ranlett3_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "piazza" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett3|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and piazzas for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "piazza" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to piazza, [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." ([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.

--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

*Anonymous, June 21 1706, describing in the ''Journals of the House of Burgesses'' construction resolutions in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "Ordered That ye said Henry Cary do cause the pavements in ye '''Piazza''' to be taken up, and new Laid, and yt [sic] the well be filled up and the pavement of ye [[walk]] Leading thereby finished."

*[[Hugh Jones|Jones, Hugh]], 1722, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (1956: 66-67)<ref>Hugh Jones, ''The Present State of Virginia, From Whence Is Inferred a Short View of Maryland and North Carolina'', ed. by Richard L. Morton (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KE293JVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "At the north end runs back a large wing, which is a handsome hall . . . there is a spacious '''piazza''' on the west side, from one wing to the other. It is approached by a good [[walk]], and a grand entrance by steps, with good courts and gardens about it."

* Anonymous, 1756, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' the construction materials needed for the Capitol, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 298)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Wanted about 280 feet of purbeck and 80 feet of balne shrosberry stone for completing the '''piazzas''' of the capitol in Williamsburg."

* Anonymous, October 13, 1757, describing a property for sale in Charleston, S.C. (South Carolina Gazette) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "on a Creek fronting Charles-Town, with a neat pleasant-situated House thereon, having '''Piazzas''' South, West and North, and being about 6 Miles from Charles-Town."

* [[James Iredell|Iredell, James]], 1773, describing Edenton, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "Spoke to Mr. Jones in his ''Piazza'', walked with him in his Garden, but was not asked in to his house."

* [[William Attmore|Attmore, William]], 1787, describing New Bern, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "there are to many of the houses Balconies or '''Piazzas''' in front and sometimes back of the house, this Method of Building is found convenient on account of the great Summer Heats here."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], July 14, 1787, describing Gray's Tavern, Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 1:274)<ref name="Cutler_1987">William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "From this grass [[plat]] we went into a '''piazza''' one story high, next the street, very pleasant, as it is in full [[view]] of the river."

* Anonymous, December 24, 1799, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' a property for sale in Richmond, Va. (CWF)

: "For sale: A house on Shockoe Hill near the Capitol in Richmond. . . . Adjoining this building is a kitchen, laundry, office, coachhouse to hold two carriages, lodging rooms for domestics. This building is connected to the house by a double '''piazza'''."

* [[John Sibley|Sibley, Dr. John]], September 15, 1802, describing the [[plantation]]s along the Mississippi River, in the vicinity of New Orleans, La. (1927: 477)<ref>John Sibley, "The Journal of Dr. Sibley July-October, 1802," ''Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' 10 (1927):474-497, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GFUD923H/q/John%20Sibley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The houses all after the same fashion, one story, wood, large on the ground, a Hall & 4 chambers, '''piazzias''' on all Sides and almost all painted white."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], November 22, 1803, describing the [[Woodlands]], [[seat]] of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:144)<ref name="Cutler_1987"></ref>

: "Near the point of land a superb but ancient house built of stone is situated. In the front, which commands an extensive and most enchanting prospect, is a '''piazza''', supported on large pillars, and furnished with chairs and sofas, like an elegant room."

* <div id="Birch"></div> [[William Russell Birch|Birch, William Russell]], 1808, describing [[York Island]], Long Island, N.Y. (n.p.)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Birch_cite|back up to history]]

: "This [[view]] is taken from the '''piazza''' of the [[seat]] of General Stevens on Long Island, near that extraordinary channel called Hell-gate, on the East river, or sound. The [[view]] was taken in the morning at the rising of the sun, when a glow of light from the arch of Heaven, exhibited to the [[view]] almost innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose, like so many stars in the firmament, upon the face of this beautifully variegated Island. The scene extending [sic] across the North river to the Jersey shore." [See Fig. 1]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], March 1, 1808, describing [[Mount Vernon]], [[plantation]] of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Stein 1993:100)<ref> Susan R. Stein, ''The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SK9WTNIU/q/Stein| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "My [[greenhouse|green house]] is only a '''piazza''' adjoining my study, because I mean it for nothing more than some oranges, Mimosa Farnesiana and a very few things of that kind."

* [[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing Charleston, S.C. (1858: 130)<ref>David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'' (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie, 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A passion for flowers has of late astonishingly increased. Many families in the capital, and several in the country, for some years past have been uncommonly attentive to [[flower garden]]s. Those who cannot command convenient spots of ground have their '''piazzas''', balconies, and windows richly adorned with the beauties of nature far beyond anything that was known in the days their infancy."

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 13, 1809, Moore's Old Ordinary, Halifax, County, Va. (CWF)

: "We breakfasted this morning at a house much celebrated in Virginia, called Moore's old Ordinary. It was decidedly superior to any public house, we had yet stopt at on our Route . . . it was now morning, and many of the young people who remained where seated, or walking for their amusement in the cool shade of a long piazza, enjoying the morning breezes."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, in a letter to his son, [[Rembrandt Peale]], describing Belfield, estate of [[Charles Willson Peale]], Germantown, Pa. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:54-55)<ref>Lillian B. Miller and et al, eds.,''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: Charles Willson Peale: Artist in Revolutionary America, 1735-1791'' Vol. 1; ''Charles Willson Peale, Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810''. Vol 2, Pts. 1-2; ''The Belfield Farm Years, 1810-1820''. Vol. 3; ''The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale''. Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1983-2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a '''Piazer''' extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], Summer 1811, describing Smith's summer retreat, Sidney, near Washington, D.C. (1906: 87)<ref name="Bayard, 1906"> Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I had a table with benches round it in the front '''Piazza''', to which we removed after dinner to eat our desert [''sic'']."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Beaufort, S.C.(2:207)<ref>John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "One peculiarity, however, may be remarked respecting them, which is, that '''piazzas''' are generally attached to their southern front, as well for the convenience of walking therein during the day, as for preventing the sun's too great influence on the interior of the house."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 13, 1816, describing [[Eaglesfield]], country house of [[Robert Egglesof Griffith]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 290)<ref name="Foster_1997">Kathleen A. Foster, ''Captain Watson's Travels in America: The Sketchbooks and Diary of Joshua Rowley Watson, 1772-1818'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J6Q29IVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "You enter the house from a '''Piazza''' 25 feet long, with a [[porch]] in a half circular form, supported by [[pillar]]s, into the hall. . . . The front windows of the eating & drawing rooms reach from near the top of the room to the floor, and open out on a spacious '''Piazza''' 46 ft long and 13 ft wide supported by 6 pillars, the whole front of the house. . . . Near the house is a [[pavilion]] with a '''Piazza''' all round it, it consists of two rooms and well situated for privacy."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 17, 1816, describing [[Belmont Mansion]], estate of [[Judge William Peters]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 292-93)<ref name="Foster_1997"></ref>

: "Bellmont house is old, but is well built of stone and like all the Country houses, has a '''Piazza''' in front. I don't see why those in England should not have the same, which would secure a fine airy walk in all weathers, besides being ornamental to the building."

* <div id="Latrobe"></div>[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe|Latrobe, Mary Elizabeth]], April 18, 1820, describing the home of [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], New Orleans, La. (1951: 181)<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> [[#Latrobe_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our lot is 360 feet and 64 front, the house is up 16 steps with a '''Piazza''' (or Gallery as they call them here) the whole length of the house front and back, there is no entry or passage like our Baltimore houses."

*[[John Fanning Watson|Watson, John Fanning]], 1822-23, describing Cape May, N.J. (1857: 2:541)<ref name="Watson_1857">John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Among our few amusements—we swing—gather curious shells and pebbles upon the strand—walk the '''piazza''', and converse.

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98) <ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a [[verandah]] or '''piazza''', from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."
[[File:1771.jpg|thumb|Fig. 20, Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.]]

*<div id="Trollope"></div>[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1828, describing Cincinnati, Ohio (1832: 1:147)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd edn, 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref> [[#Trollope_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our cottage had an ample '''piazza''', (a luxury almost universal in the country houses of America), which, shaded by a group of acacias, made a delightful sitting-room."

[[File:1022.jpg|thumb|Fig. 21, Charles Alexandre Lesueur, "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.]]
* [[Sophie Madeleine Du Pont|Du Pont, Sophie Madeleine]], August 9, 1829, describing [[Eleutherian Mills]], estate of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, near Wilmington, Del. (quoted in Low and Hinsley 1987: 93)<ref>Betty-Bright Low and Jacqueline Hinsley, ''Sophie du Pont, A Young Lady in America: Sketches, Diaries, & Letters, 1823-1833'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U2EJBX3K/q/Hinsley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Our new deer, Fanny, is very annoying—She is constantly on the '''piazza''', and seizes every opportunity of rushing into the house, and what is worse, is so tame that there is no frightening her away—Azor encouraged by her example, is almost always on the '''piazza''', and if any thing is left on the entry windows, they seize & devour it—if not, they knock it down." [Fig. 20]

* [[Thomas Say|Say, Thomas]], October 19, 1830, describing his residence in New Harmony, Ind. (Stroud 1992: 227)<ref> Patricia Tyson Stroud, ''Thomas Say: New World Naturalist'', (Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSIE7JGM/q/Stroud| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "In summer, hummingbirds, sometimes three or four at a time, visited the honeysuckle that 'clustered' over his ''''piazza'''.'" [Fig. 21]

* [[James Thacher|Thacher, James]], December 3, 1830, "An Excursion on the Hudson," describing [[Hyde Park]], [[seat]] of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (''New England Farmer'' 9: 156)

: "The mansion house at [[Hyde Park]] is elevated about 200 feet above the surface of the river. With its two wings it presents a noble front of 136 feet, and is two stories above the basement. The centre or principal building, has a '''piazza''' on both fronts; the west front is open to the Hudson, and the east looks over a spacious, beautiful [[lawn]] towards the turnpike from New York to Albany."

* [[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], June 19, 1832, describing Jacksonville, Ill. (1975: 346-47) <ref>William Cullen Bryant, ''The Letters of William Cullen Bryant'' vol. 1, ed. by William Cullen II Bryant and Thomas G. Voss (New York: Fordham University Press, 1975), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3X5XUJ6A view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The dwelling was of the most wretched description. It consisted of but one room about half of which was taken up with beds and cribs. . . . In an enormous fireplace blazed a huge fire . . . the hostess and her daughter were busy in cooking a supper for several travellers who were sitting under a kind of '''piazza''' in front of the house or standing in the [[yard]]. . . . About eleven preparations were made for repose. . . . The floor of the '''piazza''' was also occupied with men wrapped in their blankets."

* [[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81, 231, 243)<ref>Joseph Holt Ingraham, ''The South-west'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1835), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DTFA8CCM view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The house was quadrangular, with a high steep [[Dutch style|Dutch]] roof, immensely large and two stories in height. . . . [It was] built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed [[veranda]]s, supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the '''piazza''' was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side. . . .
<p></p>
: "Around the semi-circular flight of steps, ascending to the '''piazza''' of the dwelling,—the [[column]]s of which were festooned with the golden jasmine and luxuriant multiflora,—stood, in large green vases, a variety of flowers . . . breathing gales of fragrance upon the air. From this point the main [[avenue]] branches to the right and left, into narrower, yet not less beautiful [[walk]]s, which, lined with evergreen and flowering shrubs, completely encircled the cottage. . . .
<p></p>
: "Passing from this [[plantation]] scene through the airy [[hall]] of the dwelling, which opened from '''piazza''' to '''piazza''' through the house, to the front gallery, whose light [[column]]s were wreathed with the delicately leaved Cape-jasmine, rambling woodbine and honeysuckle, a lovelier and more agreeable scene met my eye. I stood almost embowered in the foliage of exotics and native plants, which stood upon the gallery in handsome vases of marble and China-ware. The main [[avenue]] opened a [[vista]] to the river through a paradise of althea, orange, lemon, and olive trees, and [[grove]]s and [[lawn]]s extended on both sides of this lovely spot, 'Where Flora's brightest broidery shone,' terminating at the villas of adjoining [[plantations]]."

* <div id="Martineau"></div>[[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing Jamaica Pond, vicinity of Boston, Mass. (1838: 2:182-83)<ref name="Martineau_1838">Harriet Martineau, ''Retrospect of Western Travel'', 2 vols. (London: Saunders and Otley, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/H2BW5FRU view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Martineau_cite|back up to history]]

: "A cottage on Jamaica Pond, for instance, within an easy ride of Boston, is a luxurious summer abode. I know of one unequalled in its attractions, with its [[flower garden|flower-garden]], its [[lawn]], with banks shelving down to the mere; banks dark with rustling pines, from under whose shade the bright track of the moon may be seen, lying cool on the rippling waters. A boat is moored in the cove at hand. The cottage itself is built for coolness, and its broad '''piazza''' is draperied with vines, which keep out the sun from the shaded parlours."

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1838: 1:200)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "After the service we walked to the University, at the distance, I think, of a little more than a mile from the town. The singular ranges of college buildings are visible from a considerable distance, as they advantageously crown an eminence, presenting the appearance of a '''piazza''' surrounding an oblong [[square]], with the professors' houses rising at regular intervals. We found that the low buildings connecting these larger dwellings were the dormitories of the students; ground-floor apartments opening into the '''piazza''', and designed to serve as places of study as well as sleep." [See Fig. 7]

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing life in the southern United States (1838: 1:219)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "You are then invited to see the house, learning by the way the extent and value of the estate you are visiting, and of the 'force' upon it. You admire the lofty, cool rooms, with their green blinds, and the width of the '''piazzas''' on both sides [of] the house, built to compensate for the want of shade from trees, which cannot be allowed near the dwelling for fear of moschetoes [''sic'']."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1839, "Notices of Gardens and Horticulture, in Salem, Mass," describing [[Elfin Glen]], residence of P. Dodge, Salem, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 5: 404)

: "The cottage stands near the road, and is entered from the west front; on the south end is a '''piazza'''; the drawing-room opens into this, and thence into the garden to an open space, answering somewhat the purpose of a [[terrace]], neatly gravelled."

* Franklin Fire Insurance Company, December 20, 1839, describing [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 57)<ref name="Greiff_1979">Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect, 1810-1865'' (Philadelphia: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z view on Zotero.].</ref>

: "A two Story Stone Building With An [[Arch]] Way for an Entrance to [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] from the Ridge Road.
<p></p>
: "Dimensions: The Whole front including the [[Arch]] is 68 feet; to wit, in the Centre is the [[Arch]] 12 feet Span, On each Side of the [[Arch]] Way is an [[Arch]] '''Piazza'''. Across the building 9 feet wide, the remaining 19 feet on each side of said arches is divided into lodge rooms, 2 each Story at each Side: the Width of Building 26 1/2 feet with a '''Piazza''' on each Side Whole length of the Building; The '''Piazza''' in front next to the Road is 10 feet Wide the One next to the Cemetery is 8 feet wide. The front '''Piazza''' has 4 round frame [[Pillar]]s in front on each side of the [[Arch]]. . . . The floors to all the '''Piazzas''' are faced Sand Stone; The '''Piazza''' under the building on each side of the Entrance has 4 round [[Pillar]]s . . . the [[Arch]]es over the '''Piazzas''' along side of Entrance made in the same way & having block Cornices. There is a cast iron & a wooden laticed Gate to Entrance & a double panel door in front to each '''Piazza''' by the side of the large [[Arch]], plain jambs painted & sanded: there is a similar door way at the other end of said '''Piazzas''' (but no doors hung) with panel jambs . . . from each '''Piazza''' by the Side of the [[Arch]] there is an entrance Door Midway to the lodge rooms 1st Story which leads directly to a Straight Boxed Stairway to 2nd Story."

* [[John Warner Barber|Barber, John Warner]], and [[Henry Howe]], 1841, describing Jefferson Barracks, Sacketts Harbour, N.Y. (p. 211)<ref>John Warner Barber and Henry Howe, ''Historical Collections of the State of New York; Containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state,'' (New York: S. Tuttle, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IUJRUUA5/q/Barber| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The two long ranges of buildings in the distance, facing the spectator, are the officers' quarters. The buildings at each end are the soldiers' barracks. These structures are of limestone ... with neat '''piazzas''' in front, forming three sides of a [[square]], on which is the parade ground."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1841, "Notes made during a Visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c.," describing the residence of James Dundas, Philadelphia, Pa. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 7: 420)

: "The [[conservatory]] as well as the drawing- room, opens into a '''piazza'''."

*[[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "One of these [ranges of chambers] is called "Bachelor's Room", as it consists only of single rooms, not more than twelve feet square, with a door letting in immediately from the public '''piazza''', up and down which everybody walks, so that the door cannot be opened without the whole interior of the room being exposed. Each of these has two windows, less than two feet square, one opening into the '''piazza''', and the other against the rock of the hill beyond."

*[[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], March 6, 1843, describing Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Clarke 1993: 2:150)<ref name="Clarke_1993">Graham Clarke, ed., ''The American Landscape: Literary Sources and Documents'', 3 vols. (East Sussex, England: Helm Information, 1993), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TRGJ9W95 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The city of Charleston strikes the visitor from the North most agreeably. He perceives at once that he is in a different climate. The spacious houses are surrounded with broad '''piazzas''', often a '''piazza''' to each story, for the sake of shade and coolness, and each house generally stands by itself in a garden planted with trees and shrubs, many of which preserve their verdure through the winter."

* [[Charles Evans|Evans, Charles]], 1846, describing [[Friends Asylum for the Insane]], near Frankford, Pa. (p. 10) <ref> Charles Evans, ''An Account of the Asylum'', (Philadelphia: Joseph Rakestraw, 1846), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CKN72CQS/q/Charles%20Evans| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "At the termination of a gravel [[walk]] leading directly from the house through these two gardens, at the distance of about three hundred feet, is an ornamental house, surrounded on all sides by a '''piazza''', fitted up as a library and reading room, and containing numerous specimens of natural history, maps, drawings, &c., &c., affording a most agreeable resort for such patients as may be considered by the physician well enough to enjoy it."

*[[John Notman|Notman, John]], December 26, 1846, describing his designs for the [[Smithsonian Institution]], Washington, D.C. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 117)<ref name="Greiff_1979"></ref>

: "No. I, is the ground plan. . . . On both sides or fronts of the building where strong direct light is neither desirable nor necessary, piazzas are made within the line of [[wall]]s, forming four sheltered ambulatories or cloisters, each 90 feet long by 10 feet wide; they are also passages from one point to another. . . .
<p></p>
: "The halls, corridors, '''piazza''', and [[porch]]es, [are] to be paved." [See Fig. 4]

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant [[''Portico'']] on its northern [front], and a '''''Piaza''''' [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, describing the design for a symmetrical, bracketed cottage ([1850] 1968: 122-23) <ref name="Downing_1850">A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]
:"The [[veranda]] of this cottage is 8 feet wide and 32 feet long. It is one of the most pleasing forms of bracketed '''piazza''', and is built with but little cost. The whole is of wood; the rafter ''a'' (Fig. 45), being worked fair, and beaded at the angles, as well as the narrow sheathing boards, ''b'', which cover them, and form the underside of the roof." [See Fig. 2]

* [[Rev. C. C. Jones|Jones, Rev. C. C.]], June 5, 1851, in a letter to his wife, Mary Jones, describing [[Hermitage]], estate of [[Andrew Jackson]], Nashville, Tenn. ([1851] 1976: 175)<ref>C. C. Jones, ''A Georgian at Princeton'', ed. by Robert Manson Myers (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, [1851] 1976) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7X6BDD92 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The carriage drew up at the '''piazza''', resembling the [[Mount Vernon]] '''piazza''', paved with limestone flags, and with the fluted [[column]]s running to the cornice above the second story."

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">Ephraim Chambers, ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PIAZZA''', in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a [[portico]], or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See [[PORTICO]].
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or [[square]]; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or [[portico]]'s around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "[[PORTICO]], in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See '''PIAZZA'''."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31)<ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "PORTICO.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with [[arch]]es, in the manner of a gallery. The [[portico]] is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The [[''portico'']] is a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner."

* [[William Prince|Prince, William]], 1828, ''A Short Treatise on Horticulture'' (pp. 145-46)

: "''Sweetbriar, or Eglantine''.—This delightful species of the rose family is well calculated to train against the sides of houses, or up the [[pillar]]s of the '''piazza''', or to intermingle with the vines which entwine bowers, &c."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PIAZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;'' Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered walk supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. Encyc."

[[File:0938.jpg|thumb|Fig. 22, James E. Teschemacher, "A green-house constructed at the centre of a cottage", May 1, 1835.]]
* <div id="Teschemacher"></div>[[James E. Teschemacher|Teschemacher, James E.]], May 1. 1835, "On Horticultural Architecture" (''Horticultural Register'' 1: 159)[[#Teschemacher_cite|back up to history]]

: "The '''piazzas''' of many houses are formed by a continuation of the roof supported by thick [[pillar]]s, which give them a heavy appearance; those in the drawing are intended to represent '''piazzas''', with concave roofs formed of painted floor cloth, fastened on slight wooden rafters, cut with curve desired, then supported by slender [[pillar]]s connected by wooden [[arch]]es with open work; such pillars may be quickly encircled by hardy climbing plants." [Fig. 22]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 824)<ref name="Webster_1848">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'' (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PI-AZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;''; Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "1. In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered [[walk]] supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. ''P. Cyc''.
<p></p>
: "2. In ''Italian'', it denotes a square open space surrounded by buildings. ''Gwilt.''"

[[File:0779.jpg|thumb|Fig. 23, Frances Palmer, "South Front Elevation" of Italian Bracketed Villa at Oswego N.Y., 1851.]]
* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 14, 16-17, 32, 38, 39)<ref name="Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "ROOFS, CORNICE, &c. . . . The first section of main roof to be covered with first quality 3 feet cedar shingles, laid three thick on hard-wood lath; the roofs of the top section, the two wings, the '''piazza''', [[portico]]s, bay and oriel windows, covered with tongued and grooved plank, and overlaid with 'Naylor's patent tinned iron plates,' with ridge joints. . . . principal [[portico]] and '''piazza''' roofs to be supported by eight round fluted Corinthian [[column]]s, with carved caps and turned bases . . . the ceiling of the [[portico]] and '''piazza''', of narrow, clear boards; the filling below the several floors of '''piazza''', gallery and [[veranda]] to be open work.
<p></p>
: "On the south is a flat-roofed '''piazza''', with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s. . . . [Fig. 23]
<p></p>
: "the absence of a '''piazza''', the lack of all ornamentation, of vines and [[shrubbery]] [of a house recently erected in the suburbs of N.Y.], bespeak a degree of ignorance of the means of enjoyment, of niggardliness and contracted views, that ere long will be looked upon with incredulity."

* <div id="Ranlett1"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name="Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett1_cite|back up to history]]

: "[[Veranda]]s, '''piazzas''' and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 357-58)<ref name="Downing_1850"></ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the [[veranda]], or ''piazza''. In a cool climate, like that of England, the [[veranda]] is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a [[veranda]] is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without [[verandas]]. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the [[veranda]] should find its place; or, if not an architectural [[veranda]], then, at least, the [[arbor]]-[[veranda]], covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no [[veranda]]-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* <div id="Ranlett3"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett3_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a '''piazza'''; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a [[veranda]]. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking '''piazzas''' on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1732.jpg|Batty and Thomas Langley, "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's," in [[Batty Langley]], ''Gothic Architecture'' (1747), pl. 29.
File:0461.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of Bath (Berkeley Springs), Va., 1787. Plan lists "bb" as "two Piazzas with [[seat]]s".
File:0069.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]], 1787. See Detail.
File:0069_Detail3.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]] [detail], 1787. "Piazza 18 feet high" is inscribed at the top of the detail.
File:1219.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Joseph Hand Villa, 1807. "Piazza" is inscribed on the principal story.
File:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.
File:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.
File:0720.jpg|[[Charles Bulfinch]], "Joseph Barrell House remodeled as McLean Hospital", 1817. "Covered piazza" is inscribed on either side of the upper [[terrace]].
File:0597.jpg|William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826.
File:1254.jpg|[[John Notman]], "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846. "Piazza" is inscribed near the front of of the building on either side of the "Hall of Entrance" and at the back of the building on either side of the "Principal Stair".

</gallery>

=== Associated===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1771.jpg|Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.
File:0505.jpg|Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826.
File:1022.jpg|[[Charles Alexandre Lesueur]], "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.
File:0320.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808, in William Russell Birch and Emily Cooperman, ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 75, pl. 17.

Image:0916.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside," in A. J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 122, fig. 45.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0272.jpg|[[Ralph Earl]], ''Captain Elijah Dewey'', 1798.
File:0233.jpg|[[Charles Fraser]], ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, Seat of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Talk:Piazza

2015-07-02T21:18:23Z

K-perkov:

[KP 6/22/15] I've divided "Piazza/Veranda/Porch/Portico" into four separate pages. As of now, they have the same history essay with the exception that there are no double brackets around the word of the given page; for example, "Portico" is placed in double brackets on the "veranda" page, but not on the "portico" page. The texts and images are particular to each key term.

[KP 7/2/15] In the third paragraph there is a quote from Rev. Manasseh Cutler describing Monticello without a citation.

Talk:Veranda

2015-07-02T21:18:21Z

K-perkov:

[KP 6/22/15] I've divided "Piazza/Veranda/Porch/Portico" into four separate pages. As of now, they have the same history essay with the exception that there are no double brackets around the word of the given page; for example, "Portico" is placed in double brackets on the "veranda" page, but not on the "portico" page.The texts and images are particular to each key term.

[KP 7/2/15] In the third paragraph there is a quote from Rev. Manasseh Cutler describing Monticello without a citation.

Talk:Portico

2015-07-02T21:18:18Z

K-perkov:

[KP 6/22/15] I've divided "Piazza/Veranda/Porch/Portico" into four separate pages. As of now, they have the same history essay with the exception that there are no double brackets around the word of the given page; for example, "portico" is placed in double brackets on the "veranda" page, but not on the "portico" page.The texts and images are particular to each key term.

[KP 7/2/15] In the third paragraph there is a quote from Rev. Manasseh Cutler describing Monticello without a citation.

Talk:Porch

2015-07-02T21:18:16Z

K-perkov:

[KP 6/25/15] It is unclear to me if "Rustic Seat" (File: 0358) should be listed as an inscribed image for porch. The text accompanying the image describes many different architectural features, including a "a rustic seat, placed on a bold little plateau, at the base of a large tree, eighty feet above the water", a "little rustic pavilion, from which a much lower and wider view of the landscape is again enjoyed", and "a charming little covered resting place, in the form of a rustic proch" [sic].
<br/> [CT 7/2/15] "Porch" is actually spelled correctly in ''Horticulturist''...it was just misspelled in FileMaker (fixed now). But I agree that it should be associated.

[KP 7/2/15] In the third paragraph there is a quote from Rev. Manasseh Cutler describing Monticello without a citation.

Terrace/Slope

2015-07-02T21:10:24Z

K-perkov:

==History==
The term terrace, used to describe both natural and artificial landscape features, denoted a level area or platform, often slightly raised and of varying dimensions and materials. Although [[Stephen Switzer]] (1718) made subtle distinctions between kinds of terraces (terrace walks, great terraces, middle terraces, etc.), those distinctions were not generally followed in American usage. In practice, however, a variety of terrace types were incorporated into landscape designs throughout eighteenth- and nineteenth-century America. These included long narrow terraces that formed raised [[walk]]s, platforms of earthen and architectural materials adjacent to buildings, and earthen terraces between slopes in [[falling garden]]s.

Native American platform mounds, such as the one described as a terrace by <span id="Bartram_cite"></span>[[William Bartram]] in 1791, served as stages for the religious and ruling elite of the southeast before European contact ([[#Bartram|view text]]). Visible for miles, these mounds are remarkable not only as architectural monuments but also as testimonies to the leadership that mobilized a massive labor force needed to move such a vast quantity of earth.
[[File:0766.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, Anonymous, ''The Battery New York, By Moonlight'', 1849.]]
[[File:1048.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], Sketch of the Grounds of the Vassall-Carigie-Longfellow House, 1844. A "turf terrace" is noted to the left of the main house.]]
In Anglo-American gardens, long,narrow terraces provided raised [[walk]]s that offered excellent viewing platforms, formed circulation routes through the landscape, and made ideal venues for social promenade, as depicted at the [[Battery Park]] in New York by the ''Illustrated London News'' in 1849 [Fig. 1]. In 1718,<span id="Switzer_cite"></span>[[Stephen Switzer|Switzer]] declared that gardens without these elevated [[walk]]s "must be esteem'd very deficient."([[#Switzer|view text]]) Waterside terraces were particularly common in America, because they were created with the fill dredged from rivers and [[canal]]s. Such terraces were built in residential settings, such as the gardens at [[Maycox Plantation]] in Virginia (described c. 1780-82 by [[François Jean Chastellux]] and at the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House in Cambridge [Fig. 2]. In public areas, terraces were found at the [[Battery Park]], described in 1793 by [[John Drayton]], and at the waterfront of Alexandria, Va., visited in 1830 by [[Frances Milton Trollope]].

[[File:0896.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 3, Edwin Whitefield, Sketch of Anson G. Phelps' Villa, North Tarrytown, New York, 1851.]]
[[File:1686.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, James Smillie after a sketch by A. O. Moore, "Italian Garden and Lake at Wellesley near Boston", 1859.]]
Terraces were also built adjacent to buildings, and were often created from the earth excavated from cellar construction. The term "terrace" referred to raised earthen platforms and to flat roofed structures, both of which were used as balconies, [[promenade]]s, and viewing platforms. These terraces (paved, turfed, gravelled, or covered in metal compounds as advertised in the ''Federal Gazette'' in 1816) were occasionally also ornamented with [[statue|statuary]], vases, urns, and plantings such as flower beds or, more rarely, topiary. [[Charles Lyell]] recorded his observations of a highly ornamented terrace in Natchez, Miss., in 1846. A paved or turfed terrace extending from the house and often bounded by a balustrade was particularly popular in Italianate architecture of the 1830s and 1840s and was promoted by [[William H. Ranlett]] (1849) and [[Andrew Jackson Downing]] (1849). These terraces required substantial investment to construct and, when planted intensively, to maintain [Figs. 3 and 4]. As <span id="Loudon_cite"></span>[[Jane Loudon]] observed in 1845, "[T]hey are chiefly adapted for mansions and places of considerable extent." ([[#Loudon|view text]]) <span id="Downing_cite"></span> [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing]] suggested that the function of the English paved terrace was often accommodated in America by the [[veranda]] ([[#Downing|view text]]).
[[File:2006.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 5, Joseph Drayton, ''View near Bordenton, from the Gardens of the Count de Survilliers'', c. 1820.]]
[[File:1477.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, Anonymous, Honorary membership certificate for Nicholas Biddle in “The Horticultural Association of the Valley of the Hudson” [detail], June 1839.]]
Broad terraces located adjacent to a building provided a transition between the built architecture and the grounds, as [[Batty Langley]], [[Bernard M'Mahon]], [[John Abercrombie]], and [[A. J. Downing]] all noted. The terrace also provided a vantage point from which to admire [[view]]s and [[vista]]s. Both [[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie]] (1817) and [[J. C. Loudon]]'s (1850) discussions of terraces emphasize the importance of selecting sight lines and of building proportionally in order to create an appropriate visual setting for a house, as well as to establish a viewing platform for looking outward. For example, the terrace at [[Point Breeze]], which was described by [[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope]] and depicted in an anonymous engraving after [[Thomas Birch]] [Fig. 5], was placed to take advantage of striking [[vista]]s. Similarly, flat roofs of buildings (such as those at [[Monticello]]; the Waterworks at [[Fairmount Park]] in Philadelphia; and the [[White House]] in Washington, D.C.) served as elevated terrace walkways with views of distant scenery. A certificate for the Horticultural Association of the Hudson [Fig. 6] depicts an idealized garden (possibly based on [[Andrew Jackson Downing|Downing's]] [[Highland Place]]) that includes a terrace, seen at right, framing an extended view of the Newburgh Basin.<ref>For a discussion of this image, see Walter L. Creese, ''The Crowning of the American Landscape: Eight Great Spaces and Their Buildings'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985), 75-78.[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FX78IBSV/q/Creese| view on Zotero.]</ref>
[[File:0720.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 7, Charles Bulfinch, Ground plan of the two wings added to the Pleasant Hill, 1818. The "upper terrace" and "lower terrace" link all the buildings.]]
[[File:1042.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, Michael van der Gucht, Illustration for chapter entitled: "Of different Terrasses and Stairs, with their most exact Proportions", 1712.]]
Terraces of varying widths were also employed in sites with a steep grade in order to make for arable and easily navigated level areas, to control erosion, and to create the visual effects made possible by a series of slopes and flats (see [[Fall]]). These terraces were supported by earthen slopes or masonry [[wall]]s, supports which were referred to variously as banks, slopes, and terrace walls. They were also sometimes simply called by the more general term, "terrace," as in [[William Dickinson Martin]]'s 1808 description of a "perpendicular terrace" at Salem, N.C. Designs for public institutions, such as [[Charles Bulfinch]]'s 1818 design for two wings to be added to the seat of [[Joseph Barrell]] in order to create the [[McLean Asylum]] [Fig. 7], used terraces to frame views of the buildings' façdes while accommodating the slope of the land. The terraces of a [[falling garden]] were generally separated by turfed slopes or, less commonly, masonry [[wall]]s. As <span id="Argenville_cite"></span> [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) noted, gardens were less susceptible to erosion if their terraces were created by cutting into an existing hillside rather than constructed out of fill ([[#Argenville|view text]]) [Fig. 8].The planting schemes of [[falling garden]] terraces varied from simple turf to kitchen and flower beds, although images of terraces rarely showed plantings in detail. Among the few surviving examples is [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson's]] diagram (c. 1804) for a garden olitory, in which he specified a hedge at the "foot of the terras" designed to accommodate differing heights of the [[lawn]] and [[kitchen garden]]. In 1840, <span id="Hovey_cite"></span>[[C. M. Hovey]] referred to the efforts of the Messrs. Winship of Brighton, Mass., to transform the embankment of a railroad right-of-way on [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey's]] land into an attractive terraced garden ([[#Hovey|view text]]). While the use of terraces and slopes to create [[falling garden]]s seems to have declined in popularity after the early nineteenth century, its use continued through mid-century in large formal landscapes of public gardens, such as the University of Virginia, and anywhere uneven or steep topography offered a challenge.

--Elizabeth Kryder-Reid

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[William Byrd|Byrd, William]] II, September 18, 1732, describing the estate of Gov. Alexander Spotswood, near Germanna, Va. ([1910] 1970: 357-58)<ref>William Byrd, ''The Writings of Colonel William Byrd of Westover in Virginia, Esqr.'', ed. by John Spencer Bassett (New York: B. Franklin, 1970), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3VVVZ9XQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "After Breakfast the Colo. and I left the Ladys to their Domestick Affairs, and took a turn in the Garden, which has nothing beautiful but 3 '''Terrace''' Walks that fall in '''Slopes''' one below another."

* [[William Grigg|Grigg, William]], October 4, 1736, describing the residence of [[Thomas Hancock]] on Beacon Hill, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Lockwood 1931: 1:32)<ref> Alice B Lockwood, ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner's for the Garden Club of America, 1931),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T/q/lockwood| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "I the Subscriber oblidge myself for Consideration of forty pounds to be well & truly paid me by Thos. Hancock Doe undertake to layout the upper garden [[alley|allys]]. Trim the Beds & fill up all the [[alley|allies]] with such Stuff as Sd Hancock shall order and Gravel the [[walk|Walks]] & prepare and Sodd ye '''Terras''' adjoining with the '''Slope''' on the side next to Mr. Yoemans land, Likewise I oblidge myself to layout the next garden or flatt from the '''Terras''' below and carry on the mold thereto belonging and fill up all the [[walk]]s with Gravel & finish all off Compleat workman like this fall to the satisfaction of said Hancock."

* [[Alexander Hamilton|Hamilton, Alexander]], June 17, 1744, describing New York, N.Y. (1948: 46)<ref>Alexander Hamilton, ''Gentleman’s Progress: The Itinerarium of Dr. Alexander Hamilton, 1744'', ed. by Carl Bridenbaugh (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1948), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EWWJNEUN view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Leutenant Governor had here a house and a chapell, and there are fine gardens and '''terrass''' walks from which one has a very pritty [[view]] of the city.""

[[File:0074.jpg|thumb|Fig. 9, [[Thomas Jefferson]], Plan showing the rectangular flower beds and proposed temples at the corners of the terrace walks at Monticello, before August 4, 1772.]]
* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1771, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1944: 26)<ref>Thomas Jefferson, ''The Garden Book'', ed. by Edwin M. Betts (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1944), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/8ZA5VRP5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "a few feet below the spring level the ground 40 or 50 f. sq. let the water fall from the spring in the upper level over a '''terrace''' in the form of a [[cascade]]. then conduct it along the foot of the '''terrace''' to the Western side of the level, where it may fall into a cistern under a [[temple]], from which it may go off by the western [[border]] till it falls over another '''terrace''' at the Northern or lower side. let the [[temple]] be raised 2. f. for the first floor of stone. under this is the cistern, which may be a bath or anything else. the 1st story [[arch]]es on three sides; the back or western side being close because the hill there comes down, and also to carry up stairs on the outside. the 2d story to have a door on one side, a spacious window in each of the other sides, the rooms each 8. f. cube; with a small table and a couple of chairs. the roof may be Chinese, Grecian, or in the taste of the Lantern of Demosthenes at Athens." [Fig. 9]

* [[Philip Vickers Fithian|Fithian, Philip Vickers]], March 18, 1774, describing [[Nomini Hall]], Westmoreland County, Va. (1943: 108) <ref>Philip Vickers Fithian, ''Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian, 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion'', ed. by Hunter D. Farish (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, 1943), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XJX4WV8F view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "From the front yard of the Great House, to the Wash-House is a curious '''''Terrace''''', covered finely with Green turf, & about five foot high with a '''slope''' of eight feet, which appears exceeding well to persons coming to the front of the House—
<p> </p>
: This '''''Terrace''''' is produced along the Front of the House, and ends by the Kitchen; but before the Front-Doors is a broad flight of steps of the same Height, & slope of the '''''Terrace'''''."

* [[François Jean Marquis de Chastellux|Chastellux, François Jean Marquis de]], 1780-82, describing [[Maycox Plantation]], estate of [[David Meade]], Prince George County, Va. (1787: 2:166-67)<ref> François Jean Chastellux, Marquis de Chastellux, ''Travels in North America in the Years 1780, 1781, and 1782,'' 2 vols. (London: G. G. J. and J. Robinson, 1787),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UXHRGXKX/q/Fran%C3%A7ois%20Jean| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "[[David Meade|Mr. Mead's]] house is by no means so handsome as that of [[Westover]]. . . . [[David Meade|Mr. Mead's]] garden, like that of [[Westover]], is in the nature of a '''terrace''' on the bank of the river."

* [[William Hamilton|Hamilton, William]], 1789 and 1790, in a letter to his secretary, Benjamin Hays Smith, describing the [[Woodlands]], seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Madsen 1988: A6, A7) <ref> Karen Madsen, “William Hamilton’s Woodlands.” Paper presented for seminar in American Landscape, 1790–1900, instructed by E. McPeck. Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. 1988.[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items#items/itemKey/XN8NN9QN/q/madsen?&_suid=1340895272014046677169243049543 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[September 27, 1789] . . . The first moment after Hilton has finished weeding in the Garden as I directed he should set about weeding the '''terrace''' walk as I will endeavour to have it gravelld during the winter. . .
<p> </p>
: "[October 12, 1789] . . . When the '''terrace''' is weeded, the two [[Border]]s leading from the House to the [[Ice House]] Hill should be cleaned. . .
<p> </p>
: "[June 12, 1790] . . . The newly planted trees & shrubs along the '''terrace''' respecting which you know me to be so anxious, may be alive or dead for ought I know."

* <div id="Bartram"></div>[[William Bartram|Bartram, William]], 1791, describing the area north of Wrightsborough, Ga. (1928: 56-57)<ref> William Bartram, ''Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida'', ed. by Mark Van Doren (New York: Dover, 1928), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/88NA3B2P view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Bartram_cite|back up to history]]

: "many very magnificent monuments of the power and industry of the ancient inhabitants of these lands are visible. I observed a stupendous conical pyramid, or artificial mount of earth, vast tetragon '''terraces''', and a large sunken area, of a cubical form, encompassed with banks of earth; and certain traces of a larger Indian town, the work of a powerful nation, whose period of grandeur perhaps long preceded the discovery of this continent. . . .
<p> </p>
: "old Indian settlements, now deserted and overgrown with forests. These are always on or near the banks of rivers, or great swamps, the artificial mounts and terraces elevating them above the surrounding [[grove]]s."

* [[William Loughton Smith|Smith, William Loughton]], 1791, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (1917: 64)<ref> William Loughton Smith, ed. Albert Matthews, ''Journal of William Loughton Smith, 1790-1791'' Cambridge, Mass.:The University Press, 1917), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ITHQH4P5/q/Loughton| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "The house is rather an ancient brick building, with a neat garden, at the end of which is a high natural '''terrace''' which commands the Potomac."

* [[John Drayton|Drayton, John]], 1793, describing the [[Battery Park]], New York, N.Y. (quoted in Deák, 1988: 1:130) <ref> Gloria Gilda Deák, ''Picturing America, 1497-1899: Prints, Maps, and Drawings Bearing on the New World Discoveries and on the Development of the Territory That Is Now the United States'', 2 vols. (Princeton, N.J.:Princeton University Press, 1988), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4A6QNFNX| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "The flag staff rises from the midst of a stone tower, and is decorated on the top with a golden ball: and the back part of the ground is laid out in smaller [[walks]], '''terraces''', and a [[bowling green]].— Immediately behind this, and overlooking it, is the government house; built at the expence of the state."

* [[Thomas Twining|Twining, Thomas]], May 1, 1795, describing Georgetown, Va. (1894: 110)<ref>Thomas Twining, ''Travels in America 100 Years Ago'', (New York: Harper, 1894), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CKJBU8CP/| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "As we stood one evening on the bank of the river before his door, he said, 'Here I will make a terrace, and we will sit and smoke our hookahs.'"

[[File:0090a.jpg|thumb|Fig. 10, [[Thomas Jefferson]], "Terras" in a letter describing plans for a "Garden Olitory" at [[Monticello]] c. 1804. ]]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], c. 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (Massachusetts Historical Society, Coolidge Collection)

: "Garden Olitory. Make the upper '''slope''' [diagram] at a plant a [[hedge]] of hedgethorn & at ''b'' one of privet or Gleditria, or cedar to be trimmed down to 3 ft. high, the whole appearance thus taking a [[border]] of 8 ft. at the foot of the '''terras''' for forward production, the main beds must be reduced from 50 f. to 42 f."[Fig. 9]

* [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], May 11, 1805, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "The obstructions to the colonnade from the stables, may be prevented by giving them a North door, as horses will easily ascend or descend the '''terras''' on the North side. But the most difficult of all is the adjustment of the new connecting building to the different levels of the three existing buildings. Nothing can be admitted short of the '''terras''' of the offices from the [[White House|Pres's House]] to the [[pavilion]]s each way being absolutely in the level of the floor of the house."

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], 1808, describing the [[pleasure ground]]s at [[Salem Academy]], Salem, N.C. (quoted in Bynum 1979: 29) <ref name="Bynum, 1979">Flora Ann L. Bynum, ''Old Salem Garden Guide,'' (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Old Salem, 1979), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TJB9XNMF view on Zotero.]</ref>
: "Next, I visited a [[flower garden]] belonging to the female department. . . . it is situated on a hill, the East end of which is high & abrupt; some distance down this, they had dug down right in the earth, & drawing the dirt forward threw it on rock, etc., thereby forming a horizontal plane of about thirty feet in circumference; & on the back, rose a perpendicular terrace of some height, which was entirely covered over with a grass peculiar to that vicinage. At the bottom of this '''terrace''' were arranged circular [[seat]]s, which, from the height of the hill in the rear were protected from the sun in an early hour in the afternoon"

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 1, 1809, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1906: 68)<ref name="Bayard, 1906"> Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>
: "He [[ [Thomas Jefferson] ]] took us first to the garden he has commenced since his retirement. It is on the south side of the mountain and commands a most noble view. Little is as yet done. A '''terrace''' of 70 or 80 feet long and about 40 wide is already made and in cultivation. A broad grass [[walk]] leads along the outer edge; the inner part is laid off in beds for vegetables. This '''terrace''' is to be extended in length and another to be made below it. The [[view]] it commands, is at present its greatest beauty."

* [[Elbridge Gerry Jr.|Gerry, Elbridge, Jr.]], July 1813, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (1927: 180-82)<ref>Elbridge Gerry, Jr., ''The Diary of Elbridge Gerry, Jr.'' (New York: Brentano’s, 1927), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/8P4QSRIF view on Zotero.]</ref>

:"A door opens at each end, one into the hall, and opposite, one into the '''terrace''', from whence you have an elegant [[view]] of all the rivers &c. . . . Lengthways of the house, and thro' the hall, is a walk, which extends on a '''terrace''' at each end for some way. . . .
<p></p>
: "The grounds are surrounded by a high stone [[wall]], and on each side, at the distance of 1 or 300 yards is a large brick building, one for the Sec. of War and the other of the Navy. The '''terrace''' was to communicate to each building connecting the three."

* Anonymous, 1816, describing in the ''Federal Gazette'' & ''Baltimore Daily Advertiser'' construction items for sale (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 371)<ref>Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "[Zinc] can be made use of in cases where lead, tin or copper are employed; such as covering '''terraces'''."

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], March 16, 1817, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (CWF)

: "I shall certainly want a very great quantity [of paint] in the course of the present year, as I have to renew the whole outer painting of this house and the '''terraces''', and to paint that in Bedford which has never been done."

* [[Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge|Coolidge, Ellen Wayles Randolph]], July 17, 1819, describing the effects of a hailstorm at [[Poplar Forest]], property of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Bedford County, Va. (quoted in Chambers 1993: 121)<ref> William Chambers, ''Poplar Forest and Thomas Jefferson'', (Forest, Va.: Corporation for Jefferson's Poplar Forest, 1993), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HEXFEBX9/q/Chambers| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "the planks of the '''terrace''' torn up in places by the violence of the winds."

* [[Eliza Vierling Kremer|Kremer, Eliza Vierling]], 1824-29, describing the [[pleasure ground]]s at [[Salem Academy]], Salem, N.C. (quoted in Bynum 1979: 29)<ref name="Bynum, 1979"> </ref>

: "A large garden, some little distance from the Academy, was during the Summer Season, a place for recreation after school hours. . . .
<p> </p>
: "The hill-side was laid off in '''terraces''' and winding [[walk]]s."

*[[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 2, 1828, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1906: 225)<ref name="Bayard, 1906"> </ref>

: "on two other sides running from north to south are the [[Pavillion]]s, or Professor's houses, at about 60 or 70 feet apart, connected by '''terraces''', beneath which are the dormitories, or lodging sleeping rooms of the students. The '''terrace''' projects about 8 feet beyond the rooms and is supported on brick [[arch]]es, forming beneath the arches a paved [[walk]], sheltered from the heat of summer and the storms of winter."

* [[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing Alexandria, Va. (1832: 2:93) <ref name="Trollope, 1832"> Frances Milton Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd ed., 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "a few weeks' residence in Alexandria restored my strength sufficiently to enable me to walk to a beautiful little grassy '''terrace''', perfectly out of the town, but very near it, from whence we could watch the various craft that peopled the Potomac between Alexandria and Washington."

* [[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing [[Point Breeze]], estate of Joseph Bonaparte (Count de Survilliers), Bordentown, N.J. (1832: 2:153)<ref name="Trollope, 1832"> </ref>

: "The country is very flat, but a '''terrace''' of two sides has been raised, commanding a fine reach of the Delaware River; at the point where this '''terrace''' forms a right angle, a lofty chapel has been erected, which looks very much like an observatory."

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1834, describing [[Hyde Park]], seat of Dr. [[David Hosack]], on the Hudson River, N.Y. (1838: 1:54) <ref name= "Martineau, 1838"> Harriet Martineau, ''Retrospect of Western Travel'', 2 vols. (London: Saunders and Otley, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/H2BW5FRU view on Zotero.]</ref>
: "The aspect of [[Hyde Park]] from the river had disappointed me, after all I had heard of it. It looks little more than a white house upon a ridge. I was therefore doubly delighted when I found what this ridge really was. It is a natural '''terrace''', overhanging one of the sweetest reaches of the river; and, though broad and straight at the top, not square and formal, like an artificial embankment, but undulating, sloping, and sweeping between the ridge and the river, and dropped with trees; the whole carpeted with turf, tempting grown people, who happen to have the spirits of children, to run up and down the '''slopes''', and play hide-and-seek in the hollows."

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing Cincinnati, Ohio (1838: 2:51) <ref name= "Martineau, 1838"> </ref>

: "The proprietor has a passion for gardening, and his ruling taste seems likely to be a blessing to the city. He employs four gardeners, and toils in his grounds with his own hands. His garden is on a '''terrace''' which overlooks the [[canal]], and the most parklike eminences form the background of the [[view]]. Between the garden and the hills extend his vineyards, from the produce of which he has succeeded in making twelve kinds of wine, some of which are highly praised by good judges."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1839, "Notices of Gardens and Horticulture, in Salem, Mass," describing Elfin Glen, residence of P. Dodge, Salem, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 5: 404)

: "The cottage stands near the road, and is entered from the west front; on the south end is a [[piazza]]; the drawing-room opens into this, and thence into the garden to an open space, answering somewhat the purpose of a '''terrace''', neatly gravelled."
[[File:0536.jpg|thumb|Fig. 10, [[George Lehman]], "Fairmount Waterworks. From the Forebay", 1833.]]

* [[Nathaniel Parker Willis|Willis, Nathaniel Parker]], 1840, describing the [[Fairmount Waterworks]], Philadelphia, Pa. ([1840] 1971: 313) <ref> Nathaniel Parker Willis, ''American Scenery, or Land, Lake and River Illustrations of Transatlantic Nature'', 2 vols. (Barre, Mass.: Imprint Society, [1840] 1971), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5CMW67U view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Steps and '''terraces''' conduct to the reservoirs, and thence the [[view]] over the ornamented grounds of the country [[seat]]s opposite, and of a very [[picturesque]] and uneven country beyond, is exceedingly attractive. Below, the court of the principal building is laid out with gravel [[walk]]s, and ornamented with [[fountain]]s and flowering trees; and within the edifice there is a public drawing-room, of neat design and furniture; while in another wing are elegant refreshment-rooms—and, in short, all the appliances and means of a place of public amusement." [Fig. 10]

[[File:0877.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Anonymous, Section of a terrace of the Messrs. Winship, 1840.]]

* <div id="Hovey"></div>[[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1840, "Notes on Gardening and Horticulture in Worcester, Mass.," describing the grounds of Messrs. Winship, Brighton, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 6: 402)[[#Hovey_cite|back up to history]]

:"We recollect of reading, in the last volume of the ''Gardener's Magazine'', some remarks on treating the ground on the margins of rail-roads, where there were embankments of any extent. These remarks we had marked for insertion in our pages, but had forgotten them until the present moment, when called to our mind as we passed the grounds of the Messrs. Winship, in Brighton. The road passes immediately through the nursery, dividing it in two parts; but these gentlemen have so arranged the sandy embankments with '''terraces''', planted with shrubs, &c., as to render them very ornamental. We only wish that other gentlemen who are able, would take the same pride in improving the embankments where they pass through their lands."
<p></p>
: "The '''terraces''' of the Messrs. Winship are made in the following manner: the distance is from ten to fifteen feet. A [[wall]] is laid of about four feet; then a grass banking of some three to five more, at an angle of forty-five or fifty degrees; this is the first '''terrace''', and the surface, (about five feet wide,) is filled with fine flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants; another grass banking of from five feet more, at the same angle, is thrown up, and the surface prepared and planted out with shrubs and plants. When in the vigor of growth and flowering, these '''terraces''' have a fine effect, contrasted with the barren sand, which happens wherever there is a cut of ordinary depth. We have annexed the following engraving, representing the same." [Fig. 11]

* [[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "Behind the "Bachelor's Row," and on the upper part of the hill is an imposing edifice of brick, called "Society Hall." It is built of two stories, with a fine [[portico]] of twelve feet wide, running the whole length of the front, and a '''terrace''' of twenty feet wide beyond this."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], April 1842, "Notes made during a Visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c.," describing the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 8: 127)

: "The main entrance to the west front is from Pennsylvania Avenue, where the grounds form a semi-circle, of which the [[avenue]] is the centre; a very broad [[walk]] leads from them, up the ascending surface, to the main steps, which descend from a broad semi-circular '''terrace''': two other entrances of this part of the grounds are placed at the angles or sides of this semi-circle, which also, by a straight [[walk]], lead up to the broad '''terrace'''. From this lower '''terrace''', a long flight of steps leads to the upper one, upon which the building of the Capitol is placed: on the turf between the [[walk]]s, are oval and circular [[bed]]s, planted with shrubs and roses, and filled with dahlias and other annual flowers."

* [[Sir. Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir. Charles]], 1846, describing Natchez, Miss. (1849: 2:153) <ref>Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>
: "Many of the country-houses in the neighborhood are elegant, and some of the gardens belonging to them laid out in the [[English Style|English]], others in the [[French style]]. In the latter are seen '''terraces''', with statues and cut evergreens, straight [[walk]]s with [[border]]s of flowers, terminated by views into the wild forest, the charms of both being heightened by contrast. Some of the [[hedge]]s are made of that beautiful North American plant, the Gardenia, miscalled in England the Cape jessamine, others of the Cherokee rose, with its bright and shining leaves."

* [[William Ranlett|Ranlett, William]], 1849, describing a proposed villa in Oswego, N.Y. ([1849] 1976: 2:14)<ref> William A. Ranlett, ''The Architect,'' 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo [1849-51] 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/q/ranlett view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI, is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . . On the north side which commands a full view of the lake, a balustrade gallery, or '''terrace''', extends the entire front." [Fig. 12]

[[File:0778.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, [[Frances Palmer]], Italian Bracketed Villa at Oswego, N.Y., 1851.]]

* [[Justicia]] [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 413)

: "The [[kitchen garden]] is separated from the [lawn]] and [[flower garden]] by the Cactus and Orchid-houses. It covers 1 1/2 acres, is well arranged in [[bed]]s and '''terraces''', with a large open cistern of water in its centre—all in excellent order. The quarters are interspersed with dwarf fruit trees, variously pruned and trained, and all in a young bearing state."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Kalorama (Kaleirama), estate of Joel Barlow, Washington, D.C. (p. 331) <ref name= "Loudon, 1850"> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening''. new ed., corr. and improved (London: Longman et al., 1850),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "851. ''Kaleirama'' is about a mile from Washington, on high '''terrace''' ground, and is a very pretty place. . .. (''Dom. Man.'', &c., vol. ii. p. 330.)"

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing the public gardens in Hoboken, N.J. (pp. 332-33) <ref name= "Loudon, 1850"> </ref>

: "856. ''Public Gardens''....
<p></p>
: "''Hoboken'', on the North River, about three miles from New York, is a public [[walk]] of great beauty and attraction. . . . Through this beautiful little [[wood]], a broad well-gravelled '''terrace''' is led by every point which can exhibit the scenery to advantage; narrower and wilder paths diverge at intervals, some into the deeper shadow of the [[wood]]s, and some shelving gradually to the pretty coves below. . . . (''D. M., &c.'', vol. ii. p. 170)"

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], September 1851, "Notes on Gardens and Nurseries," describing [[Rose Hill]], residence of George Leland, Waltham, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 17: 411)

: "Descending the steps we reach the garden, which covers and extent of two or more acres in the form of a parallelogram, the end next Newton street. The '''slope''' is laid out in '''terraces''' on the right of the steps, and on the left is located the range of forcing houses, which is 104 feet long, comprising a centre and two wings, the former the [[greenhouse]], twenty-five feet, and the latter vineries, forty feet each."

===Citations===

* [[Jean de La Quintinie|La Quintinie, Jean de]], 1693, "Dictionary," ''The Compleat Gard'ner'' ([1693] 1982: n.p.)<ref> Jean de La Quintinie, ''The Compleat Gard'ner, or Directions for cultivating and right ordering of fruit-gardens and kitchen gardens'', trans. by John Evelyn (New York: Garland, [1693] 1982), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ET5N5PKH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A '''''Terrass''''', is an artificial bank or mount of Earth, commonly supported with a fronting or facing of stone, and raised like a kind of ''Bulwark'' for the ornament of a ''Garden''."

* <div id="Argenville"></div>[[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]], 1712, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' ([1712] 1969: 75, 116-18)<ref>A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'', trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International, [1712] 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Argenville_cite|back up to history]]

:"'''TERRASSES''', when rightly situated, are likewise of great Ornament in Gardens, for their Regularity and Opening; especially when they are well built, and beautified with handsome Stairs, and fine Ascents. Sometimes there are made under them, Vaults, Grots, [[Cascade]]s, and Buffets of Water, with an Order of Architecture, and a great many [[Statue]]s in Niches; and, on the Coping above, are set Vases and Flower-pots, orderly ranged and disposed. . . .
<p></p>
: "WHEN you meet with a Piece of Ground whose Shelving is very steep, as perhaps of the Hill ''A'', which you would make practicable for a Garden, it may be order'd three several Ways.
<p></p>
: "''First'', By making '''Terrasses''' one above another, at several Heights, and supporting the Earth with sufficient [[Wall]]s of Masonry.
<p></p>
: "''Secondly'', By making such '''Terrasses''', as will support themselves without a [[Wall]], by Means of Banks and '''Slopes''' cut at the Extremity of every '''Terrass'''.
<p></p>
: "THE ''Third Way'' is, to make no '''Terrasses''' in strait Lines, nor long Flats between; but only to contrive Landing-Places, or Rests, at several Heights, and easy Ascents and Flights of Steps for Communication, with Foot-Paces, Counter-Terrasses, Volutes, Rolls, Banks, and '''Slopes''' of Grass, placed and disposed with Symmetry, which are called Amphitheatres. ...
<p></p>
: "OF these three Manners, that with the '''Slopes''' is the least Expence, and that of the Ampitheatre the most magnificent; so that '''Terrass'''-Walls may be reckon'd to hold a Medium between the other two. . . .
<p></p>
: "THE Architect, or he that is to give the Design of a Garden, should carefully consider the '''Slope''' and Winding of the Hill, and raise and describe the Profil of it very correctly; that by making the best Advantage of the Situation, and distributing its '''Terrasses''' with Husbandry and Discretion, there may not be a great deal of Earth to remove, but that what is taken from Places that are too high, may serve to raise and make good those that are too low, which should be done with such Prudence and Circumspection, that you should neither be obliged to bring in Earth, nor have any to carry away, when your '''Terrasses''' are finished. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''TERRASSES''' should not be made too frequent, nor too near one another, that is, you should always make as few of them as possible; and by means of Levels, or Flats, continued as long as the Ground will permit, endeavour to avoid the Defect of heaping '''Terrass''' upon '''Terrass''', it being very disagreeable in a Garden to be constantly going Up-hill, or Down-hill, without finding scarce any Resting-Place.
<p></p>
: "WHAT we call the Level, or Flat, is the Space of Ground contained between the '''Slopes''' of two '''Terrasses''', that is to say, the Platform sustained by the [[Wall]]s or Banks of the '''Terrasses''', which, in Fortification, is call'd the ''Terra-plain''."

* [[Stephen Switzer|Switzer, Stephen]], 1718, ''Ichnographia Rustica'' ([1718] 1982: 150-52)<ref>Stephen Switzer, ''Ichnographia Rustica, or The Nobleman, Gentleman and Gardener’s Recreation....'', 1st edn, 3 vols. (London: D. Browne, 1718),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UWQEVT5X view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The '''Terrace''' seems to have been us'd a considerable Time since . . . But the nearest of our Derivations in ''English'', is from the ''French'', '''Terrace''', or '''Terrasse'''; and they from the ''Italians'', (from whom they, and almost all Europe, derive their Terms of Art relating to Building, Gardening, ''&c.'') ''Terraza'', ''Terrazare'', signifying with them the removing and banking up of Earth, from one Place into another.
<p></p>
: "But be the Derivations as it will, it is very well known in these ''European'' Countries, and particularly with us, to be a small Bank of Earth, laid out and trimm'd according to Line and Level, being necessary for the proper Elevation of any Person that walks round his Garden, to view all that lyes round him. And this Elevation is so necessary, that all Gardens must be esteem'd very deficient, that have them not . . . that I dare pronounce a Seat of no Value without them; and, besides, where-ever the House is to be new built, there is no Possibility of disposing of the Earth, Clay, Rubbish, ''&c''. that necessarily comes out of Cellars and Foundation thereof, but this; which we must otherwise suppose (amidst a thousand needless Works) is to be carted away, to fill up some Hollow or other, which had been better left undone perhaps likewise.
<p></p>
: "Of '''Terrace'''-Walks there are several Kinds, as they are particularly us'd.
<p></p>
: "The 1st, is that great Terrace that lies next the House.
<p></p>
: "The 2d, Side, or Middle '''Terrace''', that is commonly rais'd or cut out above the Level of the [[Parterre]], [[Lawn]], ''&c''.
<p></p>
: "The 3d, Those that encompass a Garden; and
<p></p>
: "The 4th, Many that lye under one another, as being cut out of a large high Hill; these are differing, in some Respect or other, from one another."

* [[Batty Langley|Langley, Batty]], 1728, ''New Principles of Gardening'' ([1728] 1982: vi-vii)<ref>Batty Langley, ''New Principles of Gardening, or The Laying Out and Planting Parterres, Groves, Wildernesses, Labyrinths, Avenues, Parks, &c'' (Originally published London: A. Bettesworth and J. Batley, etc., [1728] 1982), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MRDTAEKC view on Zotero.]</ref>
: "When the Situation of Gardens such, that the making of '''''Slopes''''' and '''''Terraces''''' are necessary, or cannot be avoided, they not only leave them ''naked of Shade'' as aforesaid, but ''break their'' '''''Slopes''''' into so many Angles, that their ''native Beauty'' is thereby destroy'd. Thus if by waste Earth a ''Mount'' be ''raised ten or twelve Feet high'', you shall have its '''Slope''', that should be entire from top to bottom, broken into three, if not four small ''trifling ones'', and those mixt with [[Arch]]s of Circles, ''&c''. that still adds to their ill Effects: So that instead of having one ''grand'' '''''Slope''''' only with an easy Ascent, you have three or four small ones, that are ''poor and trifling''.
<p></p>
: "And the only reason why they are made in this Stair or Step-like manner, is first to shew their Dexterity of Hand, without considering the ill Effect; and lastly to imitate those ''grand Amphitheatrical Buildings'', used by the ''Ancients'', of which they had no more Judgement, than of the excellent Proportions of Architecture that was used therein, when those noble Structures were first erected. . . .
<p></p>
: "When very large Hills of great perpendicular Heights are to be cut into '''''Slopes''''' and '''''Terraces''''', then we may justly endeavour to imitate those grand Structures, (whereon their Gladiators exercis'd) by cutting them Concave, Convex, &c. as those looking towards ''Fair-Mile Heath'', in the Gardens of his ''Grace'' the DUKE of NEWCASTLE ''at his Grand Seat of Claremont''; but in small Elevations they are poor and trifling, and therefore not to be used."

* [[Philip Miller|Miller, Philip]], 1754, ''The Gardeners Dictionary'' ([1754] 1969: 1367)<ref>Philip Miller, ''The Gardeners Dictionary'' (New York: Verlag Von J. Cramer, [1754] 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/356Q24EP view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''TERRACES''':A '''Terrace''' is a small Bank of Earth, rais'd and trimm'd according to Line and Level, for the proper Elevation of any Person that walks round a Garden, that he may have a better [[Prospect]] of all that lies around him; and these Elevations are so necessary, that those Gardens that have them not, are deficient.
<p></p>
: "When '''Terraces''' are rightly situated, they are great Ornaments to such Gardens as have them, for their Regularity and Opening; especially when they are well built, and beautify'd with handsome Stairs, and fine Ascents.
<p></p>
: "There are several Kinds of '''Terrace'''-walks:
<p></p>
: "1. The great '''Terrace''', which lies next to the House.
<p></p>
: "2. The side or middle '''Terrace''', which is commonly raised above the Level of the [[Parterre]], [[Lawn]], &c.
<p></p>
: "3. Those '''Terraces''' which encompass a Garden.
<p></p>
: "4. Those '''Terraces''' which lie under one another, being cut out of a large Hill; and these are different one from another, in some respect or other.
<p></p>
: "As to the Breadth of side '''Terraces''', this is usually decided by its Correspondence with some [[Pavilion]], or some little Jettee or Building; but most of all by the Quantity of Stuff that is to spare for those Purposes.
<p></p>
: "The side '''Terrace''' of a Garden ought not to be less than twenty Feet, and but very seldom wider than forty.
<p></p>
: "As for the Height of a '''Terrace''', some allow it to be but five Feet high; but others more or less, according to their Fancies; but the more exact Persons never allow above five or six Feet; and in a small Garden, and a narrow '''Terrace''' [[walk]], three Feet; and sometimes three Feet and an half high are sufficient for a Terrace eighteen Feet wide; and four Feet are sufficient for a Terrace of twenty Feet wide; but when the Garden is proportionably large, and the '''Terrace''' is thirty or forty Feet wide, then it must be at least five or six Feet high.
<p></p>
: "The noblest '''Terrace''' is very deficient without Shade; for which Elm-trees are very proper: for no [[Seat]] can be said to be complete, where there is not an immediate Shade almost as soon as out of the House; and therefore these shady Trees should be detach'd from the Body and Wings of the Edifice.
<p></p>
: "'''Terraces''' should be planted rather with Elm or Lime-trees, than with Yew or Holly; which will not grow large enough to afford Shade.
<p></p>
: "The Distance of the Elms across will be about twenty Feet; and they may be plac'd thirty Feet asunder in Lines."

* [[William Salmon|Salmon, William]], 1762, ''Palladio Londinensis'' (n.p.) <ref>William Salmon, ''Palladio Londinensis, or The London Art of Building: In Three Parts . . . with Fifty-Four Copper Plates, to Which Is Annexed, The Builder’s Dictionary'', ed. by E. Hoppus, 6th edn (London: Printed for C. Hitch et al, 1762), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IEIQ5QGM view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "''Tarrau'', or '''''Tarras''''', an open [[Walk]], or Gallery; also a flat Roof on a House; also a Kind of coarse Plaister, durable in the Weather."

* [[Charles Marshall|Marshall, Charles]], 1799, ''An Introduction to the Knowledge and Practice of Gardening'' (1:124) <ref>Charles Marshall, ''An Introduction to the Knowledge and Practice of Gardening'', 1st American from the 2nd London ed. 2 vols. (Boston: Samuel Etheridge, 1799), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GE2JPJR3/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A '''terrace''' as a boundary is now seldom formed, but in some situations, such as an eminence might in several respects, be agreeable."

* [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 59, 64, 69)<ref>Bernard M’Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "In other parts are sometimes discovered eminences, or rising grounds, as a high '''terrace''', mount, steep declivity, or other eminence, ornamented with curious trees and shrubs, with [[walk]]s leading under the shade of trees, by easy ascents to the summit, where is presented to the [[view]], an extensive prospect of the adjacent fields, buildings, hamlets, and country around, and likewise affording a fresh and cooling air in summer. . . .
<p></p>
: "[[Fountain]]s and [[statue]]s, are generally introduced in the middle of spacious opens . . . sometimes in [[wood]]s, [[thicket]]s, and recesses, upon mounts, '''terraces''', and other stations, according to what they are intended to represent. . . .
<p></p>
: "Regular '''terraces''' either on natural eminences or forced ground were often introduced by way of ornament, for the sake of [[prospect]], and of enjoying the fresh air in summer; they were of various dimensions with respect to height, from two, to ten, or twenty feet, according to the nature of the situation and purpose they were designed for; some being ranged singly, others double, treble, or several, one above another, on the side of some consideable rising ground in theatrical arrangement."

* [[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (p. 472)<ref>John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero.] </ref>
: "If flights of stone-stairs and ballustrades are not the inseparable accompaniments, if the term '''terrace''' is merely to designate a raised walk, many situations may be imagined, in which a '''terrace''' would both conduce to the accommodation of the proprietor of the grounds, and, ''without dispute'', improve the [[view]].
<p></p>
: "The [[view]] FROM the house, and TO the house, cannot always be consulted with mutual improvement. When a high '''terrace''' with ornaments which appear to mark the boundary of the architect's province, is interposed between the house and the [[lawn]], the [[view]] immediately under the windows cannot certainly be so pleasant as if the house stood in a verdant field:—but let the [[prospect]] be reversed, and every stranger will see more grandeur in the house connected by a '''terrace''' with the garden; and perhaps among the spectators under the influence of cultivated taste, a few may think such a gradation conduces to general harmony.
<p></p>
: "In a flat, or confined situation, a '''terrace''' with sloping grass banks may create a [[prospect]], or relieve the sameness of the scenery."

[[File:1339.jpg|thumb|Fig. 13, [[J.C. Loudon]], "Levelling for terrace-slopes", 1826.]]

* [[J.C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 377, 1020) <ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening''. 4th ed. (London: Longman et al., 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W/order/creator/q/loudon/sort/desc view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "1933. ''Levelling for'' '''''terrace-slopes''''' ... or for geometrical surfaces, however varied, is performed by the union of both modes, and requires no explanation to those who have acquired the rudiments of geometry, or understand what has been described. . . . [Fig. 13]
<p></p>
: "7256. '''''Terrace''''' ''and [[conservatory]]''. We observed, when treating of ground, and under the [[ancient style]], that the design of the '''terrace''' must be jointly influenced by the magnitude and style of the house, the [[view]]s from its windows, (that is, from the eye of a person seated in the middle of the principal rooms,) and the [[view]]s of the house from a distance. In almost every case, more or less of architectural form will enter into these compositions. The level or levels will be supported partly by grassy '''slopes''', but chiefly by stone [[wall]]s, harmonising with the lines and forms of the house. These, in the Gothic style, may be furnished by battlements, [[gateway]]s, oriels, pinnacles, &c.; or, on a very great scale, watch-towers may form very [[picturesque]], characteristic, and useful additions. . . .
<p></p>
: "7257. The '''breadth of''' '''''terraces''''', and their height relatively to the level of the floor of the living-rooms, must depend jointly on the height of the floor of the living-rooms and the surface of the grounds or country to be seen over them. Too broad or too high a '''terrace''' will both have the effect of foreshortening a [[lawn]] with a declining surface, or concealing a near valley. The safest mode in doubtful cases is, not to form this appendage till after the principal floor is laid, and then to determine the details of the '''terrace''' by trial and correction.
<p></p>
: "7258. ''Narrow'' '''''terraces''''' are entirely occupied as [[promenade]]s, and may be either gravelled or paved: and different levels, when they exist, connected by inclined planes or flights of steps. Where the breadth is more than is requisite for [[walk]]s, the [[border]]s may be kept in turf with groups or marginal strips of flowers and low shrubs. In some cases, the '''terrace'''-walls may be so extended as to enclose ground sufficient for a level [[plot]] to be used as a [[bowling-green]] or a [[flower garden]]. These are generally connected with one of the living-rooms or the [[conservatory]], and to the latter is frequently joined an [[aviary]] and the entire range of botanic stoves. Or, the [[aviary]] may be made an elegant detached building, so placed as to group with the house and other surrounding objects."

* <div id="Loudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1845, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (p. 117) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Loudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''''Terrace'''''-''gardens'' are merely architectural-gardens, formed on platforms adjoining the house, on one or more levels, each level being supported by a '''terrace'''-wall; but as they are chiefly adapted for mansions and places of considerable extent, where of course a regular gardener must be kept, it does not appear necessary to enlarge on them here."

* [[Louisa C. Tuthill|Tuthill, Louisa C.]], 1848, 'History of Architecture' ([1848] 1988: 306) <ref> Louisa C. Tuthill, ''History of Architecture, from the Earliest Times; Its Present Condition in Europe and the United States; with a Biography of Eminent Architects, and a Glossary of Architectural Terms, by Mrs. L. C. Tuthill'' (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, [1848] 1988),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4ACTS7DK/ view on Zotero.]</ref>
: "The garden of the Elizabethan villa should be laid out with a few simple '''terraces''' near the house, so as to unite it well with the ground."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 1139)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'' (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET view on Zotero].</ref>

: "'''TER'RACE''', n. [Fr. ''terrasse''; It. ''terrazzo''; Sp. ''terrado''; from L. ''terra'', the earth.],
<p></p>
: "1. A raised level space or platform of earth, supported on one or more sides by a [[wall]] or bank of turf, &c., used either for cultivation or for a [[promenade]].
<p></p>
: "2. A balcony or open gallery. ''Johnson''.
<p></p>
: "3. The flat roof of a house."

* <div id="Downing"></div>[[A.J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 344, 346, 376, 418-20, 423, 531)<ref> A.J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64| view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Downing_cite|back up to history]]

: "Where it is desirable to separate the house from the level grass of the [[lawn]], let it be done by an architectural '''terrace''' of stone. . . .
<p></p>
: "In a succeeding section we shall refer to '''terraces''' with their parapets, which are by far the most elegant barriers for a highly decorated [[flower garden]], or for the purpose of maintaining a proper connexion between the house and the grounds. . . .
<p></p>
: "the long [[veranda]] round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved '''terraces''' of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]. . . .
<p></p>
: "In our finest places, or those country [[seat]]s where much of the polish of [[pleasure ground]] or [[park]] scenery is kept up, one of the most striking defects is the want of '' 'union between the house and the grounds.' ''...
<p></p>
: "Let us suppose . . . The house now rising directly out of the green turf which encompasses it, we will surround by a raised platform or '''terrace''', wide enough for a dry, firm [[walk]], at all seasons; on the top of the [[wall]] or [[border]] of this '''terrace''', we will form a handsome ''parapet'', or balustrade, some two or three feet high, the details of which shall be in good keeping with the house. . . . On the coping of this parapet . . .we will find suitable places, at proper intervals, for some handsome urns, vases, etc. On the drawing-room side of the house . . . we will place the [[flower-garden]], into which we descend from the '''terrace''' by a few steps. . ..
<p></p>
: "The eye now, instead of witnessing the sudden termination of the architecture at the base of the house, where the [[lawn]] commences as suddenly, will be at once struck with the increased variety and richness imparted to the whole scene, by the addition of the architectural and garden decorations. . ..
<p></p>
: "Where there is a '''terrace''' ornamented with urns or vases, and the proprietor wishes to give a corresponding air of elegance to his grounds, vases, sundials, etc., may be placed in various appropriate situations. . . .
<p></p>
: "The only situation where this brilliant [white] gravel seems to us perfectly in keeping, is in the highly artificial garden of the [[ancient style|ancient]] or [[geometric style]], or in the symmetrical '''terrace''' [[flower garden]] adjoining the house. In these instances its striking appearance is in excellent keeping with the expression of all the surrounding objects, and it renders more forcible and striking the highly artificial and artistical character of the scene; and to such situations we would gladly see its use limited."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1042.jpg|Michael van der Gucht, Illustration for chapter entitled: "Of different Terrasses and Stairs, with their most exact Proportions," in [[A.-J. Dézallier d’Argenville]], ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' (1712), pl. opp. p. 117.

File:1053.jpg|[[Batty Langley]], "Design of a rural Garden,̹ after the new manner", in ''New Principles of Gardening'' (1728), pl. III, opp. p. 208. "Terrace" is inscribed as S.S., and is located near the bottom of the plan.

File:1382.jpg|[[Batty Langley]], "An Improvement of a beautiful Garden at Twickenham," in ''New Principles of Gardening'' (1728), pl. IX. "Terrace walk" is inscribed between the "kitchen garden" and "fruit garden".

File:1384.jpg|[[Batty Langley]], One of two "Designs for Gardens that lye irregularly to the ground House . . .House opening to the ̹North upon a plain Parterre of Grass," in New Principles of Gardening (1728), pl. XI. "Terrace" is located at E and forms the walk P Q.

File:0072.jpg|[[Thomas Jefferson]], Monticello: orchard and vineyard (plat), c. 1778. "Foot of terras" is inscribed above the wall.

File:1749.jpg|[[William Bartram]], "Plan of the Ancient Chunky-Yard," in "Observations on the Creek and Cherokee Indians" (1789), from ''Transactions of the American Ethnological Society'', vol. 3, part 1 (1853), p. 52, fig. 2. Platform mounds are located at B and C.

File:0331.jpg|[[George Washington]], Plan of "Ha! Haws" at Mount Vernon, 1798.

Image:0090a.jpg|[[Thomas Jefferson]], Letter describing plans for a "Garden Olitory," c. 1804.

File:0720.jpg|[[Charles Bulfinch]], "Joseph Barrell House remodeled as McLean Hospital," 1817.

File:1339.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], "Levelling for terrace-slopes," in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 377, fig. 369.

File:1433.jpg|James H. Dakin, "La Grange Terrace, La Fayette Place, City of New York," 1831-34.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835.

File:1147.jpg|[[William Strickland]], Plan of the walks and avenues of Laurel Hill cemetery, c. 1836.

File:1423.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], "Sketch of Plan of the Treasury Building, Extended," 1836-1842, in William H. Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: The Colonial and Neoclassical Styles'' (1970), p. 405, fig. 291.

File:0877.jpg|Anonymous, Section of a terrace of the Messrs. Winship, in ''Magazine of Horticulture'' 6 (November 1840): 403, fig. 10.

File:1225.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], "Projection of the Fire-Proof Buildings for the Navy & War Depts.", c. 1843, in John M. Bryan, ''Robert Mills: America's First Architect'' (2001), p. 249.

File:1048.jpg|[[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], Sketch of the Grounds of the Longfellow Estate, 1844.

File:0653.jpg|Anonymous, A plan of the Eldredge grounds and garden, c. 1920, in Alice B. Lockwood, ''Gardens of Colony and State'' (1931-34), p. 222. "Terrace" is inscribed in the extreme west of the plan.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:0187.jpg|Anonymous, Mount Clare, n.d.

Image:1378.jpg|[[Batty Langley]], "Design of an Avenue with its Wildernesses on each Side", in ''New Principles of Gardening'' (1728), pl. V.

Image:0074.jpg|[[Thomas Jefferson]], Plan showing the rectangular flower beds and proposed temples at the corners of the terrace walks at Monticello, before August 4, 1772.

Image:0755.jpg|George Beck, ''View of Baltimore from Howard Park'', c. 1796.

Image:0873.jpg|[[John Rubens Smith]], ''Washington, looking up Pennsylvania Avenue from the Terrace of the Capitol'', 1809-1834.

Image:2006.jpg|Joseph Drayton, ''View near Bordenton, from the Gardens of the Count de Survilliers'', c. 1820.

Image:1018.jpg|[[Thomas Birch]], Point Breeze, c. 1820, in Edward J. Nygren, ''Views and Visions: American Landscape before 1830'' (1986), p. 146, pl. 120.

Image:0251.jpg|Charles Codman, ''Kalorama'', 1821.

Image:0300.jpg|[[Thomas Birch]], ''Fairmount Water Works'', 1821.

Image:1994.jpg|[[Thomas Doughty]], ''View of the Fairmount Waterworks, Philadelphia, from the Opposite of the Schuylkill River'', c. 1824-1826.

Image:0534.jpg|[[Thomas Doughty]], ''View of the Waterworks on Schuylkill--Seen from the Top of Fair Mount'', 1826.

Image:0537.jpg|Tucker Factory, Pair of vases with views of the Fairmount Waterworks, c. 1830.

Image:0536.jpg|[[George Lehman]], "Fairmount Waterworks. From the Forebay", 1833.

Image:1458.jpg|Henry Cheever Pratt, ''The House of Gardiner Greene'', c. 1834.

Image:0542.jpg|Nicolino Calyo, ''The Philadelphia Water Works'', 1835-1836.

Image:0540.jpg|[[John Caspar Wild]], "Fairmount Waterworks", 1838.

File:1120.jpg|[[W. H. Bartlett]], "Fairmount Gardens, with the Schuylkill Bridge. (Philadelphia)," in [[Nathaniel Parker Willis]], ''American Scenery'', Vol. II (1840), pl. 24.

File:1121.jpg|[[W. H. Bartlett]], "Schuylkill Water-Works. (Philadelphia)," in [[Nathaniel Parker Willis]], ''American Scenery'', Vol. II (1840), pl. 37.

File:1103.jpg|W. Mason, engraver Tucker, W.E., "Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane", c. 1841, in [[Thomas S. Kirkbride]], ''Reports of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane'' (1851), frontispiece.

File:0550.jpg|[[Victor de Grailly]], ''Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-1850.
File:0549.jpg|[[Victor de Grailly]], ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-1850.
File:1866.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "A Villa in the Italian Style," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 386, fig. 45.
File:0766.jpg|Anonymous, "The Battery, New York, By Moonlight," in ''Illustrated London News'' (October 27, 1849): 277.
File:0459.jpg|[[Jenny Emily Snow]], ''Fairmount Park Waterworks'', c. 1850.
File:0778.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Italian Bracketed Villa," in [[William H. Ranlett]], ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 7.
File:0786.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Italian Villa," in [[William H. Ranlett]], ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 22.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1388.jpg|[[Batty Langley]], "Design of a Garden and Wilderness in an Island," in ''New Principles of Gardening'' (1728), pl. XV.
File:0056.jpg|John or William Bartram, "A Draught of John Bartram's House and Garden as it appears from the River," 1758.
File:0881.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan de la ville et environs de Williamsburg en Virginie, America", 1782.
File:0207.jpg|[[Francis Guy]], ''Mt. Deposit'', 1803-05.
File:0124.jpg|Jane Shearer, Brick House with Terraces, 1806, in Sotheby's New York, ''Important American Schoolgirl Embroideries: The Landmark Collection of Betty Ring'' (January 2012), p. 80.
File:1152.jpg|Anonymous, ''Residence of Thomas Kidder, "The Lilacs"'', c. 1810.
File:1153.jpg|J. G. Hales, Plan of Mansion House, Garden &c. in Portsmouth Belonging to Jas. Rundlet Esqr., 1812.
File:0102.jpg|Joseph Jacques Ramée, Plan of the Campus Grounds, Union College, 1813.
File:1464.jpg|Joseph Jacques Ramée, Plan of Union College, 1813.
File:0694.jpg|Thomas Ender, Main Alley Leading to the Fountain of the Alligators and the Terrace, 1817.
File:0169.jpg|[[Thomas Jefferson]], Bird's-eye view of the University of Virginia, c. 1820.
File:1461.jpg|Robert Campbell, after Thomas Birch, ''View of the Dam and Water Works at Fair Mount, Philadelphia'', 1824.
File:0514.jpg|Catherine Mary Wheeler, Sampler, 1825.
File:0689.jpg|Thomas R. Butler, Francis Kearny (engraver), Southeast View of Mount St. Mary's Seminary, c. 1825, in Laura Rice, ''Maryland History in Prints, 1734-1900'' (2002), p. 69.
File:0505.jpg|Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826.
File:1217.jpg|Anthony St. John Baker, Mount Airy, Virginia; southwest front as Viewed From the Bowling Green, 1827, in Therese O'Malley and Marc Treib, ''Regional Garden Design in the United States'' (1995), p. 152, fig. 22.
File:1216.jpg|Anthony St. John Baker, Mount Airy, Virginia; northeast front, 1827, in Therese O'Malley and Marc Treib, ''Regional Garden Design in the United States'' (1995), p. 152, fig. 21.
File:1281.jpg|[[John Rubens Smith]], West Front of the Capitol, c. 1828.
File:1246.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Study for Highwood for James A. Hillhouse, Front and Side Elevations and Two Plans, c. 1830.
File:1279.jpg|[[John Rubens Smith]], West front of the Unites States Capitol with cows in the foreground, c. 1831.
File:1432.jpg|Milo Osborne, "Deaf and Dumb Asylum," in Theodore S. Fay, ''Views in New-York and its Environs'' (1831).
File:1477.jpg|Anonymous, Honorary membership certificate for Nicholas Biddle in “The Horticultural Association of the Valley of the Hudson” [detail], June 1839.
File:0706.jpg|Anonymous, "Pegg's Run," in John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time'' (1844), p. 436.
File:0823.jpg|Joshua Barney, Map of the Hampton Estate, 1843.
File:1437.jpg|C. Bachman(n), ''New York'', 1848.
File:0896.jpg|Edwin Whitefield, Sketch of Anson G. Phelps' Villa, North Tarrytown, New York, 1851.
File:1686.jpg|James Smillie, "Italian Garden and Lake at Wellesley near Boston", 1859, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1859), pl. opp. p. 452.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-02T20:01:05Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as <span id="Latrobe1_cite"></span>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805 ([[#Latrobe1|view text]]).
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
<span id="Repton_cite"></span>[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape ([[#Repton|view text]]).

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia ([[#Drayton|view text]]), and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground."([[#M'Mahon|view text]]) By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]]
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms ([[#Johnson|view text]]). Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817, the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."([[#Abercrombie|view text]])

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]],
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]] ([[#Jefferson|view text]]). Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, <span id="Repton_cite"></span> [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house ([[#Repton|view text]]). In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]].<span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s ([[#M'Mahon|view text]]). To that same end, <span id="Downing_cite"></span> [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond ([[#Downing|view text]]).

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*<div id="Latrobe1"></div>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)[[#Latrobe1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

*<div id="Repton"></div>[[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Repton_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the '''pleasure ground'''....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* <div id="Downing"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88)[[#Downing_cite|back up to history]] <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-02T19:59:07Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as <span id="Latrobe1_cite"></span>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805 ([[#Latrobe1|view text]]).
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
<span id="Repton_cite"></span>[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape ([[#Repton|view text]]).

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia ([[#Drayton|view text]]), and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground."([[#M'Mahon|view text]]) By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]]
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms ([[#Johnson|view text]]). Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817, the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."([[#Abercrombie|view text]])

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]],
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]] ([[#Jefferson|view text]]). Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, <span id="Repton_cite"></span> [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house ([[#Repton|view text]]). In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]].<span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s ([[#M'Mahon|view text]]). To that same end,<span id="Downing_cite"></span> [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond ([[#Downing|view text]]).

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*<div id="Latrobe1"></div>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)[[#Latrobe1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

*<div id="Repton"></div>[[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Repton_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the '''pleasure ground'''....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-02T19:49:35Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as <span id="Latrobe1_cite"></span>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805 ([[#Latrobe1|view text]]).
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
<span id="Repton_cite"></span>[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape ([[#Repton|view text]]).

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 ([[#Drayton|view citation]]) use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia, and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], ([[#M'Mahon|view citation]]) who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground." By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]] ([[#Johnson|view citation]])
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms. Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817([[#Abercrombie|view text]]), the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]], ([[#Jefferson|view text]])
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]]. Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house. In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]]. [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s. To that same end, [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond.

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*<div id="Latrobe1"></div>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)[[#Latrobe1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

*<div id="Repton"></div>[[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Repton_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the '''pleasure ground'''....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-02T19:47:04Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as <span id="Latrobe1_cite"></span>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805 ([[#Latrobe1|view text]]).
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape.

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 ([[#Drayton|view citation]]) use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia, and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], ([[#M'Mahon|view citation]]) who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground." By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]] ([[#Johnson|view citation]])
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms. Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817([[#Abercrombie|view text]]), the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]], ([[#Jefferson|view text]])
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]]. Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house. In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]]. [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s. To that same end, [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond.

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*<div id="Latrobe1"></div>[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)[[#Latrobe1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

* [[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the pleasure ground....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Portico

2015-07-02T16:53:49Z

K-perkov:

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], [[veranda]], [[porch]], and portico in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "portico" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the porticos. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose. They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views. Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "portico," and "[[piazza]]." Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "portico" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the portico, as opposed to [[piazza]], [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "portico" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
<span id="Smith_cite"></span> Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the portico at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the portico until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible ([[#Smith|view text]]) [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the portico at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) <span id="Downing2_cite"></span>[[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the portico served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it." ([[#Downing2|view text]])
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. [[Lewis Miller|Miller]] noted on his drawing that "A lofty portico ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The portico served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. <span id="Miller_cite"></span> [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty portico . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" ([[#Miller|view text]]) [Fig. 17]. Often the portico was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood portico. As <span id="Warden_cite"></span> [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate." ([[#Warden|view text]])
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
Porticos generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.

--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* Anonymous, 1737, describing in the ''St. Philip's Parish Vestry Book'' St. Philip's Parish, Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "[Workmen recommended the constructions of] a large Cornish under ye eves & round ye '''Porticoes'''."

* [[Charles Carroll|Carroll, Charles]] (the Barrister), July 2, 1767, describing [[Mount Clare]], [[plantation]] of Charles and Margaret Tilghman Carroll, Baltimore, Md. (quoted in Trostel 1981: 34)<ref>Michael Trostel, ''Mount Clare, Being an Account of the Seat Built by Charles Carroll, Barrister, upon His Lands at Patapsco'' (Baltimore: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland, 1981), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NTB2KX7C view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The Plan is for a '''Portico''' or Colonade to be Joined to the Front of a House and Project Eight Feet from it, An [[Arch]] at Both Ends, for a Passage through it, to Spring from Pilasters of Stone Joined to the End [[Pillar]]s of the front of the '''Portico''' and the two three Quarter Round [[Column]]s, I think they Call them, that Run up Close to the wall of the House."

* Anonymous, 1769, describing in the ''Georgia Gazette'' a proposed Presbyterian meetinghouse in Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[The meetinghouse was to be] 80 feet long by 47 feet wide . . . with a handsome light steeple in proportion to the frame, a portico at one end of 50 by 10 feet."

* [[Philip Vickers Fithian|Fithian, Philip Vickers]], March 18, 1774, describing [[Nomini Hall]], Westmoreland County, Va. (1943: 107)<ref>Philip Vickers Fithian, ''Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian, 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion'', ed. by Hunter D. Farish (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, 1943) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XJX4WV8F view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The North side [of [[Nomini Hall|Nomini Hall]]] I think is most beautiful of all; In the upper Story is a Row of seven Windows with eighteen Lights a piece; and below six windows, with the like number of lights; besides a large '''Portico''' in the middle, at the sides of which are two Windows each with eighteen Lights."

* [[Ebenezer Hazard|[Hazard, Ebenezer]], May 31, 1777, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Shelley 1954: 405)<ref> Fred Shelley, "The Journal of Ebenezer Hazard in Virginia, 1777", ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 62 (1954):400-423, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q8VUV2A3: view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Wings are on the West Front, between them is a covered Parade, which reaches from the one to the other; the '''Portico''' is supported by Stone [[Pillar]]s."

* [[Jonathan Clark|Clark, Jonathan]], 1786, describing a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[There was a] fraimed dwelling house 26 by 20 . . . and a '''portico''' the length of the fraimed house five feet wide."

* [[ J. P. Brissot de Warville|Brissot de Warville, J. P.]], 1792, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:61)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I hastened to arrive at [[Mount Vernon]]. . . . after having passed over two hills, you discover a country house of an elegant and majestic simplicity. . . . This house overlooks the Potomack, enjoys an extensive prospect, has a vast and elegant '''portico''' on the front next to the river, and a convenient distribution of the apartments within."

[[File:0087.jpg|thumb|Fig. 29, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796. "The portico faces to the East."]]
* [[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1795, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1799: 207)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "In the center is another very spacious apartment, of an octagon form, reaching from the front to the rear of the house, the large folding glass doors of which, at each end, open under a '''portico'''."

* [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], July 19 1796, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (1977: 1:163) <ref>Benjamin Henry Latrobe, ''The Virginia Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1798'', ed. Edward C. Carter II, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SZEEBG9K view on Zotero]. </ref>

: "The House is connected with the Kitchen offices by [[arcade]]s. . . . Along the other front is a '''portico''' supported by 8 square [[pillar]]s, of good proportions and effect." [Fig. 29]

* Anonymous, 1803, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Fredericksburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 286)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "commodious close [[porch]] in front, and an open '''portico''' in the rear."

* Anonymous, August 9, 1805, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Stafford County, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "FOR LEASE, A Lot of Land. . . . On the above lot there is two convenient Dwelling houses, situate near each other, with two rooms on a floor and a '''portico''' to each, the whole length of the house, and convenient closets."

* [[Joseph Scott|Scott, Joseph]], 1806, describing Centre Square and Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. (p. 25)<ref>Joseph A. Scott, ''Geographical Description of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Printed by R. Cochran, 1806), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/55XKIWPN view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The water-works of Philadelphia are the most extensive of their kind of any in America. . . . The water is discharged into a circular aqueduct, extending along Chestnut and Broad streets, into the middle of Market-street, in the centre square. . . . The building in the centre square, is a square of sixty feet, with a Doric '''portico''' on the east and west fronts. From its centre rises a circular tower, forty feet in diameter. It is covered by a dome. The tower contains the engine and reservoir . . . large enough to contain 20,000 gallons, all the chimnies of the house, which form a marble pedestal, on the summit. The shafts of the [[column]]s of the '''porticos''', consist each of one solid block of marble, 14 feet 9 inches in length, and two feet nine inches in diameter, at the base."[See Fig. 15]

[[File:0051.jpg|thumb|Fig. 30, [[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809]]
* [[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the [[Woodlands]], seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)

: "The Garden consists of a large verdant [[lawn]] surrounded by a belt or [[walk]], & [[shrubbery]] for some distance. the outer side of the [[walk]] is adorned here & there, by scattered forest trees, thick & thin. It is bounded, partly as is described—partly by the Schylkill [''sic''] & a creek exhibiting a Mill & where it is scarcely noticed, by a common post and rail. The [[walk]] is said to be a mile long—perhaps it is something less. one is led in to the garden from the '''portico''', to the east and lefthand. or from the park, by a small gate contiguous to the house. traversing this walk, one sees many beauties of landscape—also a fine statue, symbol of Winter & age." [Fig. 30]

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 20, 1809, describing Philadelphia, Pa. (CWF)

: "The building in Centre Square, is Sixty feet in every direction; having a Doric '''portico''' in front, to the East & West."

* [[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], 1812, describing [[Monticello]], [[plantation]] of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1954: 144) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America: Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. by Richard Beale Davis (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house has two '''porticoes''' of the Doric order, though one of them was not quite completed, and the pediment had in the meanwhile to be supported on the stems of four tulip trees, which are really, when well grown, as beautiful as the fluted shafts of Corinthian [[pillar]]s. They front north and south."

* <div id="Warden"></div>[[David Bailie Warden|Warden, David Bailie]], 1816, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (p. 156)<ref name="Warden_1816">Warden, David Bailie. 1816. ''A Chronographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia''. Paris: Printed and sold by Smith. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF8TXC8D view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Warden_cite|back up to history]]

: "The establishment of George Calvert, Esq. at Bladensburg, attracts attention. His mansion, consisting of two stories, seventy feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth, is admirably adapted to the American climate. On each side there is a large '''portico''', which shelters from the sun, rain, or snow."

* Anonymous, September 30, 1820, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Culpeper County, Va. (CWF)

: "I will sell my tavern establishment . . . consisting of . . . A large and commodious house with four rooms below stairs and eight above, with two large '''porticoes'''—a new smoke house, a new [[icehouse|ice house.]]"

* [[Benjamin Silliman|Silliman, Benjamin]], 1824, describing [[Monte Video]], property of Daniel Wadsworth, Avon, Conn. (p. 12)<ref>Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (New Haven, Conn.: S. Converse, 1824), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B5VWTWM5 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "To the west, the [[lawn]] rises gradually from the water, until it reaches the '''portico''' of the house, near the brow of the mountain, beyond which, the western valley is again seen."

* [[George Ticknor|Ticknor, George]], December 16, 1824, in a letter to William H. Prescott, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (quoted in Jones 1957: 7)<ref name="Jones_1957">Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We were received with a good deal of dignity and much cordiality, by Mr. and Mrs. Madison, in the '''portico''', and immediately placed at ease."

* [[Frederick Douglass|Douglass, Frederick]], 1825, describing Wye House, estate of Col. Edward Lloyd, Talbot County, Md. ([1855] 1987: 47) <ref>Frederick Douglass, ''My Bondage and My Freedom'', ed. by William L. Andrews (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q764CVCK view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The great house itself was a large, white, wooden building, with wings on three sides of it. In front, a large '''portico''', extending the entire length of the building, and supported by a long range of [[column]]s, gave to the whole establishment an air of solemn grandeur."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 2, 1828, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1906: 226) <ref name="Smith_1906">Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The rotunda is in form and proportioned like the Pantheon at Rome. It has a noble '''portico''',— the [[pillars]], cornice, &c of the Corinthian."

* <div id="Smith"></div>[[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 17, 1828, describing Montpelier, plantation of James Madison, Montpelier Station, Va. (1906: 233, 235-36)<ref name="Smith_1906"></ref> [[#Smith_cite|back up to history]]

: "We were at first conducted into the Drawing room, which opens on the back '''Portico''' and thus commands a view through the whole house, which is surrounded with an extensive [[lawn]], as green as in spring; the [[lawn]] is enclosed with fine trees, chiefly forest, but interspersed with weeping willows and other ornamental trees, all of most luxuriant growth and vivid verdure. It was a beautiful scene! . . . After dinner, we all walked in the '''Portico''', (or [[piazza]], which is 60 feet long, supported on six lofty [[pillar]]s) until twilight." [See Fig. 16]

* Anonymous, June 1829, describing [[Sedgeley]], seat of [[James C. Fisher]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (''The Casket'' 4: 265)

: "The mansion was designed and erected under the superintendance of the late Mr. Latrobe, and has been much admired for its architectural beauty. The style is Gothic, with a '''portico''' front and rear, supported by eight [[column]]s each. It presents a length of seventy-five feet, and is well adapted in the arrangement of the interior for a gentleman's residence." [See Fig. 19]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

* [[George William Featherstonhaugh|Featherstonhaugh, George William]], August 18 and 19 1837, describing [[Fort Hill]], seat of John C. Calhoun, Clemson, S.C. (quoted in Jones 1957: 126)<ref name="Jones_1957"></ref>

: "After partaking of an excellent dinner we adjourned for the evening to the '''portico''', where with the aid of a guitar, accompanied by a pleasing voice, and some capital curds and cream, we prolonged a most agreeable conversazione until a late hour. . . .
<p></p>
: "On our return to Fort Hill, the family again assembled in the portico to pass a most agreeable evening."

* [[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "Behind the "Bachelor's Row," and on the upper part of the hill is an imposing edifice of brick, called "Society Hall." It is built of two stories, with a fine '''portico''' of twelve feet wide, running the whole length of the front, and a terrace of twenty feet wide beyond this."

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant '''Portico''' on its northern [front], and a [[piazza|Piaza]] [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* <div id="Miller"></div>[[Lewis Miller|Miller, Lewis]], June 5, 1849, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (c. 1850: 108) <ref> Lewis Miller, ''Orbis Pictus: A Picturesque Album to the Ladies of York, Pennsylvania'', (Williamsburg, Va: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, c. 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XNQR79ST\ view on Zotero.] </ref>[[#Miller_cite|back up to history]]

: "The mansion house itself appears venerable and convenient[.] A lofty '''portico''' ninety-six feet in length, Supported by Eight [[pillar]]s, has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."

===Citations===

* [[A.-J Dézallier d’Argenville|[Dézallier d’Argenville, A.-J.]]], 1712, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' ([1712] 1969: 72) <ref name="Argenville_1712">[A.-J. (Antoine Joseph) Dézallier d'Argenville], ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening; wherein is fully handled all that relates to fine gardens, . . . containing divers plans, and general dispositions of gardens; . . .'' (English-language edition prepared by John James from the 1709 French original and printed in London by Geo. James, 1712. Reprint, Farnborough, England: Gregg, 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ87 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A '''PORTICO''' . . . being the Entrance in Front of a Summer-House, Salon, or [[Arbor]] of Latticework, and is generally adorn'd with a handsome Cornice and Frontispiece, supported by Pilasters or Peers; or else it is a long Decoration of Architecture placed against a [[Wall]], or at the Entrance of a Wood, where the Advances and Returns are but inconsiderable.
<p></p>
: "[[ARBORS]], Cabinets, and '''Porticos''' of Latticework, are commonly made use of to terminate a Garden in the City, and to shut out the Sight of Walls, and other disagreeable Objects; this Kind of Decoration making a handsome Sight, and serving very well to conclude the [[Prospect]] of a principal [[Walk]]."

[[File:1715.jpg|thumb|Fig. 31, [[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a Temple", 1728.]]
* [[James Gibbs|Gibbs, James]], 1728, ''A Book of Architecture'' (n.p.) <ref>James Gibbs, ''A Book of Architecture, Containing Designs of Buildings and Ornaments'', 2nd edn (London: W. Innys and R. Manby, 1739), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Z8U3MQ7H view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]], made for a Person of Quality, and proposed to have been placed in the Center of four [[Walk]]s; so that a '''Portico''' might front each [[Walk]]." [Fig. 31]

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">[[Ephraim Chambers]], ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[PIAZZA]], in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a '''portico''', or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See '''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or square; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or '''portico's''' around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO''', in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See [[PIAZZA]]. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO'''....
<p></p>
: "The roof is usually vaulted, sometimes flat. The ancients called it '''lacunar'''. See LACUNAR, VAULT, &c.
<p></p>
: "Though the word '''portico''' be derived from ''porta'', gate, door; yet it is applied to any disposition of [[column]]s which form a gallery, without any immediate relation to doors or gates.
<p></p>
: "The most celebrated '''portico's''' of antiquity were those of Solomon's [[temple]], which formed the atrium or court, and encompassed the sanctuary: that of Athens, built for the people to divert themselves in, and wherein the philosophers held their disputes and conversations; which occasioned the disciples of Zeno to be called stoics....
<p></p>
: "Among the modern '''portico's''', the most celebrated is the [[piazza]] of St. Peter of the Vatican.— That of Covent-Garden, London, the work of Inigo Jones, is also much admired."

* [[Samuel Johnson|Johnson, Samuel]], 1755, ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (2:n.p.) <ref name="Johnson_1755">Samuel Johnson, Samuel, ''A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words are Deduced from the Originals and Illustrated in the Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers'', 2 vols. (London: W. Strahan for J. and P. Knapton, 1755) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GE2JPJR3 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PO'RTICO'''. n.s. [''porticus'', Lat. ''portico'', Italian; ''portique'', Fr.] A covered [[walk]]; a [[piazza]]."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31) <ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with arches, in the manner of a gallery. The '''portico''' is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The '''portico''' is a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner. The word seems to refer to the gate or entrance of some place, ''porta'' in Latin signifying a gate; but it is appropriated to a disposition of [[column]]s, forming this kind of gallery, and has no relation to the openings."

* [[William Salmon|Salmon, William]], 1762, ''Palladio Londinensis'' (n.p.)<ref>William Salmon, ''Palladio Londinensis, or The London Art of Building: In Three Parts . . . with Fifty-Four Copper Plates, to Which Is Annexed, The Builder’s Dictionary'', ed. by E. Hoppus, 6th edn (London: Printed for C. Hitch et al, 1762), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IEIQ5QGM view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[Piazza]], in Architecture, commonly called ''Piache'', an ''Italian'' Name for a '''Portico'''; it signifies a broad open Place or Square, whence it became applied to [[Walk]]s or '''Porticos''' of [[Pillar]]s around them, like those of ''Covent Garden'', the ''Royal Exchange'', &c."

* [[Thomas Sheridan|Sheridan, Thomas]], 1789, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref>Thomas A. Sheridan, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language, Carefully Revised and Corrected by John Andrews....'', 5th ed. (Philadelphia: William Young, 1789), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5GU4CBQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', pa'r-ty-ko. s. A covered [[walk]], a [[piazza]]."

* [[William Marshall|Marshall, William]], 1803, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament'' (1:266) <ref>William Marshall, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament: A Practical Treatise. . . .'', 2 vols. (London: G. and W. Nicol, G. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, and W. Davies, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K48D75JJ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "IN extensive grounds, RETREATS, more especially in the remoter parts, are in a degree requisite; and, if they be seen, they ought to harmonize with the views in which they appear; and, of course, the more polished the scene, the more ornamental should be the Retreat,—whether it be the Room, the '''Portico''', or the more simple [[Alcove]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (p. 356)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th edn (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "1809. [[Porch]]es and '''porticoes''' . . . are sometimes employed as decorative marks to the entrances of scenes; and sometimes merely as roofs to shelter seats or resting benches." [See Fig. 27]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticu''s, from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground, or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s; a covered [[walk]]. The roof is sometimes flat; sometimes vaulted. ''Encyc''."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]] 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 848)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'', (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET| view on Zotero.] </ref>
: "'''POR'TI-CO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticus'', from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''architecture, originally'', a colonnade or covered ambulatory; but at present, a covered space, inclosed by [[column]]s at the entrance of a building. P. Cyc."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376) <ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero.]</ref> [[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the [[veranda|''veranda''], or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long [[veranda]] round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of the cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by [[veranda]]s, '''porticoes''', etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

[[File:0780.jpg|thumb|Fig. 32, [[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., 1851.]]
* [[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:14) <ref>William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "On the east side are two bay windows, one on each side of the principal entrance, which has a '''portico''' supported by fluted Corinthian [[column]]s. On the south is a flat-roofed [[piazza]], with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s." [Fig. 32]

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1056.jpg|[[Michael van der Gucht]], ''A Large Portico at the Entrance of Arbor-Work, A Cabinet of Arbor Work open at top, and A Salon for an Entrance of an Arbor'', 1712.
File:1715.jpg|[[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]]", 1728, in ''A Book of Architecture, containing designs of buildings and ornaments'' (1728), pl. 67.
File:1448.jpg|[[Batty Langley]] and [[Thomas Langley]], ''Gothick [sic] Portico'', in ''Gothic Architecture, Improved by Rules and Proportions in many Ground Designs'' (1747), pl. 32.
File:0087.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796.
File:0610.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of the East front of the [[White House|President's House]], with the additions of the North & South Porticos", 1807.
File:1237.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "General Plan of a Marine Asylum and Hospital proposed to be built at Washington", 1812. "Portico" is inscribed at the Western entrance.
File:1221.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Plan of wings and courtyards, South Carolina Insane Asylum, 1821, in John M. Bryan, ed., ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), plate 10. "Portico" is inscribed near the bottom of the plan.
File:1332.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], "Porches and Porticoes", in J.C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of gardening'', (1826), p. 356, fig. 330.
File:0580.jpg|[[Lewis Miller]], "[[Mount Vernon]]", 1835.
File:1227.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Patent Office Wings, 1842, in Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, ''Altogether American: Robert Mills, Architect and Engineer, 1781-1855'' (1994), p. 232, fig. 86b.
File:1225.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], "Projection of the Fire-Proof Buildings for the Navy & War Depts.", c. 1843, in John M. Bryan, ''Robert Mills: America's First Architect'' (2001), p. 249. "Portico" is inscribed on both the north and south entrance.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0826.jpg|[[James Peller Malcolm]], The [[Woodlands]] From the Bridge at Gray's Ferry, c. 1792, in Beth C. Wees and Medill H. Harvey, ''Early American Silver in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'' (2013), p. 259.
File:0341.jpg|George Isham Parkyns, Mount Vernon, 1795.
File:0089.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking towards the South", 1796.
File:0710.jpg|[[J. Weiss]], ''Home of George Washington, "The Father of His Country"'', 1797.
File:0345.jpg|Alexander Robertson (artist), Francis Jukes (engraver), "Mount Vernon in Virginia," 1800.
File:1256.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], West Elevation of the Final Version of Monticello, c. 1803.
File:0344.jpg|[[George Ropes]], ''Mount Vernon'', 1806.
File:0314.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "[[Mount Vernon]], Virginia, the [[Seat]] of the late [[George Washington|Genl. G. Washington]]", 1808.
File:0051.jpg|[[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809.
File:0838.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], ''Monte Video—near Avon'' [detail], c. 1810-1819, in Richard Saunders and Helen Raye, ''Daniel Wadsworth, Patron of the Arts. Hartford'' (1981), p. 56, pl. 16.
File:0551.jpg|John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1811-12.
File:1220.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Front elevation, South Carolina Insane Asylum, c.1820, in John M. Bryan, ed. ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), pl. 7.
File:1051.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], "Monte Video, Approach to the House," in Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (1824), pl. opp. p. 16.
File:0079.jpg|[[Jane Braddick]], ''View of West Front of [[Monticello]] and Garden'', 1825.
File:0646.jpg|Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.
File:0549.jpg|[[Victor De Grailly]], ''View of Mount Vernon'', c.1840–50.
File:0550.jpg|[[Victor de Grailly]], ''Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon'', c.1840-50.
File:0328.jpg|Unknown, "Front View of the Mansion at Mount Vernon", in Franklin Knight ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.14.
File:0329.jpg|Anonymous, A. Kollner (lithographer), "North West View of the Mansion of George Washington Mount Vernon," in Franklin Knight, ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.124.
File:0778.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Italian Bracketed Villa," in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 7.
File:0779.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], South Front Elevation of Italian Bracketed Villa, in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0780.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0334.jpg|Middleton, Strobridge & Co. (engraver), "Mount Vernon, the home of Washington," c. 1861.

File:0836.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], Architectural Details: Gothic Fireplace and Portico

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0190.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Charles Carroll'', c. 1770.
File:0021.jpg|Cornelius Tiebout, "A View of the present Seat of His Excel. the Vice President of the United States", 1790.
File:1229.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Garden temple elevations and floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1230.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Side elevation and basement floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1231.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Lodge - Sections showing interior elevation, c.1795-1799.
File:0083.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], ''Sedgeley'', 1799.
File:0404.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "Elevation of the South front of the President's house, copied from the design as proposed to be altered in 1807," January 1817.
File:0990.jpg|[[Thomas Birch]],''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819.
File:0020.jpg|Mdme. Janika de Feriet, ''The Hermitage'', c. 1820.
File:0739.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], Landsdown, pre 1834.
File:0025.jpg|Robert P. Smith, "View of Washington", 1850.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Porch

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K-perkov:

Porch

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K-perkov:

Porch

2015-07-02T16:48:04Z

K-perkov:

Porch

2015-07-02T16:47:31Z

K-perkov:

Porch

2015-07-02T16:47:18Z

K-perkov:

Porch

2015-07-02T16:43:56Z

K-perkov:

Veranda

2015-07-02T16:37:16Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose ([[#Ranlett|view text]]). They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground ([[#Downing2|view text]]). Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett2|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture ([[#Downing1|view text]]).<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:1755.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], Nutt's hive placed in the front of a veranda, in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 714, fig. 307.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room. See detail.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans [Detail], 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.
File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.
File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Veranda

2015-07-02T16:35:27Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose ([[#Ranlett|view text]]). They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground ([[#Downing2|view text]]). Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett2|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture ([[#Downing1|view text]]).<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:1755.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], Nutt's hive placed in the front of a veranda, in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 714, fig. 307.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.
File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.
File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Veranda

2015-07-02T16:35:08Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose ([[#Ranlett|view text]]) . They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground ([[#Downing2|view text]]). Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett2|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture ([[#Downing1|view text]]).<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:1755.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], Nutt's hive placed in the front of a veranda, in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 714, fig. 307.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.
File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.
File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Veranda

2015-07-02T16:32:45Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose.([[#Ranlett|view text]]) They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground.([[#Downing2|view text]]) Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof([[#Ranlett2|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture ([[#Downing1|view text]]).<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden."([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:1755.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], Nutt's hive placed in the front of a veranda, in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 714, fig. 307.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.
File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.
File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Veranda

2015-07-02T16:27:15Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose.([[#Ranlett|view text]]) They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850)([[#Downing1|view citation]]) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] ([[#Downing2|view citation]]) described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett ([[#Ranlett2|view citation]]) sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850)([[#Downing1|view citation]]) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] ([[#Mason|view text]]) recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:1755.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], Nutt's hive placed in the front of a veranda, in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 714, fig. 307.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.
File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.
File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Porch

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K-perkov:

Porch

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K-perkov:

Portico

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K-perkov:

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], [[veranda]], [[porch]], and portico in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "portico" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the porticos. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose. They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views. Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "portico," and "[[piazza]]." Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "portico" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the portico, as opposed to [[piazza]], [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "portico" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
<span id="Smith_cite"></span> Margaret Bayard Smith ([[#Smith|view text]]) in 1828 said the portico at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the portico until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] ([[#Mason|view text]]) recalled the portico at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." <span id="Downing2_cite"></span>[[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 ([[#Downing2|view citation]]) comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the portico served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. [[Lewis Miller|Miller]] noted on his drawing that "A lofty portico ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The portico served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. <span id="Miller_cite"></span> [[Lewis Miller]], ([[#Miller|view text]]) for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty portico . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the portico was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood portico. As <span id="Warden_cite"></span> [[David Bailie Warden]] ([[#Warden|view text]]) noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
Porticos generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* Anonymous, 1737, describing in the ''St. Philip's Parish Vestry Book'' St. Philip's Parish, Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "[Workmen recommended the constructions of] a large Cornish under ye eves & round ye '''Porticoes'''."

* [[Charles Carroll|Carroll, Charles]] (the Barrister), July 2, 1767, describing [[Mount Clare]], [[plantation]] of Charles and Margaret Tilghman Carroll, Baltimore, Md. (quoted in Trostel 1981: 34)<ref>Michael Trostel, ''Mount Clare, Being an Account of the Seat Built by Charles Carroll, Barrister, upon His Lands at Patapsco'' (Baltimore: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland, 1981), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NTB2KX7C view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The Plan is for a '''Portico''' or Colonade to be Joined to the Front of a House and Project Eight Feet from it, An [[Arch]] at Both Ends, for a Passage through it, to Spring from Pilasters of Stone Joined to the End [[Pillar]]s of the front of the '''Portico''' and the two three Quarter Round [[Column]]s, I think they Call them, that Run up Close to the wall of the House."

* Anonymous, 1769, describing in the ''Georgia Gazette'' a proposed Presbyterian meetinghouse in Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[The meetinghouse was to be] 80 feet long by 47 feet wide . . . with a handsome light steeple in proportion to the frame, a portico at one end of 50 by 10 feet."

* [[Philip Vickers Fithian|Fithian, Philip Vickers]], March 18, 1774, describing [[Nomini Hall]], Westmoreland County, Va. (1943: 107)<ref>Philip Vickers Fithian, ''Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian, 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion'', ed. by Hunter D. Farish (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, 1943) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XJX4WV8F view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The North side [of [[Nomini Hall|Nomini Hall]]] I think is most beautiful of all; In the upper Story is a Row of seven Windows with eighteen Lights a piece; and below six windows, with the like number of lights; besides a large '''Portico''' in the middle, at the sides of which are two Windows each with eighteen Lights."

* [[Ebenezer Hazard|[Hazard, Ebenezer]], May 31, 1777, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Shelley 1954: 405)<ref> Fred Shelley, "The Journal of Ebenezer Hazard in Virginia, 1777", ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 62 (1954):400-423, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q8VUV2A3: view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Wings are on the West Front, between them is a covered Parade, which reaches from the one to the other; the '''Portico''' is supported by Stone [[Pillar]]s."

* [[Jonathan Clark|Clark, Jonathan]], 1786, describing a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[There was a] fraimed dwelling house 26 by 20 . . . and a '''portico''' the length of the fraimed house five feet wide."

* [[ J. P. Brissot de Warville|Brissot de Warville, J. P.]], 1792, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:61)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I hastened to arrive at [[Mount Vernon]]. . . . after having passed over two hills, you discover a country house of an elegant and majestic simplicity. . . . This house overlooks the Potomack, enjoys an extensive prospect, has a vast and elegant '''portico''' on the front next to the river, and a convenient distribution of the apartments within."

[[File:0087.jpg|thumb|Fig. 29, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796. "The portico faces to the East."]]
* [[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1795, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1799: 207)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "In the center is another very spacious apartment, of an octagon form, reaching from the front to the rear of the house, the large folding glass doors of which, at each end, open under a '''portico'''."

* [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], July 19 1796, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (1977: 1:163) <ref>Benjamin Henry Latrobe, ''The Virginia Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1798'', ed. Edward C. Carter II, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SZEEBG9K view on Zotero]. </ref>

: "The House is connected with the Kitchen offices by [[arcade]]s. . . . Along the other front is a '''portico''' supported by 8 square [[pillar]]s, of good proportions and effect." [Fig. 29]

* Anonymous, 1803, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Fredericksburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 286)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "commodious close [[porch]] in front, and an open '''portico''' in the rear."

* Anonymous, August 9, 1805, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Stafford County, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "FOR LEASE, A Lot of Land. . . . On the above lot there is two convenient Dwelling houses, situate near each other, with two rooms on a floor and a '''portico''' to each, the whole length of the house, and convenient closets."

* [[Joseph Scott|Scott, Joseph]], 1806, describing Centre Square and Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. (p. 25)<ref>Joseph A. Scott, ''Geographical Description of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Printed by R. Cochran, 1806), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/55XKIWPN view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The water-works of Philadelphia are the most extensive of their kind of any in America. . . . The water is discharged into a circular aqueduct, extending along Chestnut and Broad streets, into the middle of Market-street, in the centre square. . . . The building in the centre square, is a square of sixty feet, with a Doric '''portico''' on the east and west fronts. From its centre rises a circular tower, forty feet in diameter. It is covered by a dome. The tower contains the engine and reservoir . . . large enough to contain 20,000 gallons, all the chimnies of the house, which form a marble pedestal, on the summit. The shafts of the [[column]]s of the '''porticos''', consist each of one solid block of marble, 14 feet 9 inches in length, and two feet nine inches in diameter, at the base."[See Fig. 15]

[[File:0051.jpg|thumb|Fig. 30, [[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809]]
* [[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the [[Woodlands]], seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)

: "The Garden consists of a large verdant [[lawn]] surrounded by a belt or [[walk]], & [[shrubbery]] for some distance. the outer side of the [[walk]] is adorned here & there, by scattered forest trees, thick & thin. It is bounded, partly as is described—partly by the Schylkill [''sic''] & a creek exhibiting a Mill & where it is scarcely noticed, by a common post and rail. The [[walk]] is said to be a mile long—perhaps it is something less. one is led in to the garden from the '''portico''', to the east and lefthand. or from the park, by a small gate contiguous to the house. traversing this walk, one sees many beauties of landscape—also a fine statue, symbol of Winter & age." [Fig. 30]

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 20, 1809, describing Philadelphia, Pa. (CWF)

: "The building in Centre Square, is Sixty feet in every direction; having a Doric '''portico''' in front, to the East & West."

* [[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], 1812, describing [[Monticello]], [[plantation]] of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1954: 144) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America: Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. by Richard Beale Davis (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house has two '''porticoes''' of the Doric order, though one of them was not quite completed, and the pediment had in the meanwhile to be supported on the stems of four tulip trees, which are really, when well grown, as beautiful as the fluted shafts of Corinthian [[pillar]]s. They front north and south."

* <div id="Warden"></div>[[David Bailie Warden|Warden, David Bailie]], 1816, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (p. 156)<ref name="Warden_1816">Warden, David Bailie. 1816. ''A Chronographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia''. Paris: Printed and sold by Smith. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF8TXC8D view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Warden_cite|back up to history]]

: "The establishment of George Calvert, Esq. at Bladensburg, attracts attention. His mansion, consisting of two stories, seventy feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth, is admirably adapted to the American climate. On each side there is a large '''portico''', which shelters from the sun, rain, or snow."

* Anonymous, September 30, 1820, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Culpeper County, Va. (CWF)

: "I will sell my tavern establishment . . . consisting of . . . A large and commodious house with four rooms below stairs and eight above, with two large '''porticoes'''—a new smoke house, a new [[icehouse|ice house.]]"

* [[Benjamin Silliman|Silliman, Benjamin]], 1824, describing [[Monte Video]], property of Daniel Wadsworth, Avon, Conn. (p. 12)<ref>Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (New Haven, Conn.: S. Converse, 1824), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B5VWTWM5 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "To the west, the [[lawn]] rises gradually from the water, until it reaches the '''portico''' of the house, near the brow of the mountain, beyond which, the western valley is again seen."

* [[George Ticknor|Ticknor, George]], December 16, 1824, in a letter to William H. Prescott, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (quoted in Jones 1957: 7)<ref name="Jones_1957">Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We were received with a good deal of dignity and much cordiality, by Mr. and Mrs. Madison, in the '''portico''', and immediately placed at ease."

* [[Frederick Douglass|Douglass, Frederick]], 1825, describing Wye House, estate of Col. Edward Lloyd, Talbot County, Md. ([1855] 1987: 47) <ref>Frederick Douglass, ''My Bondage and My Freedom'', ed. by William L. Andrews (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q764CVCK view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The great house itself was a large, white, wooden building, with wings on three sides of it. In front, a large '''portico''', extending the entire length of the building, and supported by a long range of [[column]]s, gave to the whole establishment an air of solemn grandeur."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 2, 1828, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1906: 226) <ref name="Smith_1906">Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The rotunda is in form and proportioned like the Pantheon at Rome. It has a noble '''portico''',— the [[pillars]], cornice, &c of the Corinthian."

* <div id="Smith"></div>[[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 17, 1828, describing Montpelier, plantation of James Madison, Montpelier Station, Va. (1906: 233, 235-36)<ref name="Smith_1906"></ref> [[#Smith_cite|back up to history]]

: "We were at first conducted into the Drawing room, which opens on the back '''Portico''' and thus commands a view through the whole house, which is surrounded with an extensive [[lawn]], as green as in spring; the [[lawn]] is enclosed with fine trees, chiefly forest, but interspersed with weeping willows and other ornamental trees, all of most luxuriant growth and vivid verdure. It was a beautiful scene! . . . After dinner, we all walked in the '''Portico''', (or [[piazza]], which is 60 feet long, supported on six lofty [[pillar]]s) until twilight." [See Fig. 16]

* Anonymous, June 1829, describing [[Sedgeley]], seat of [[James C. Fisher]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (''The Casket'' 4: 265)

: "The mansion was designed and erected under the superintendance of the late Mr. Latrobe, and has been much admired for its architectural beauty. The style is Gothic, with a '''portico''' front and rear, supported by eight [[column]]s each. It presents a length of seventy-five feet, and is well adapted in the arrangement of the interior for a gentleman's residence." [See Fig. 19]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

* [[George William Featherstonhaugh|Featherstonhaugh, George William]], August 18 and 19 1837, describing [[Fort Hill]], seat of John C. Calhoun, Clemson, S.C. (quoted in Jones 1957: 126)<ref name="Jones_1957"></ref>

: "After partaking of an excellent dinner we adjourned for the evening to the '''portico''', where with the aid of a guitar, accompanied by a pleasing voice, and some capital curds and cream, we prolonged a most agreeable conversazione until a late hour. . . .
<p></p>
: "On our return to Fort Hill, the family again assembled in the portico to pass a most agreeable evening."

* [[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "Behind the "Bachelor's Row," and on the upper part of the hill is an imposing edifice of brick, called "Society Hall." It is built of two stories, with a fine '''portico''' of twelve feet wide, running the whole length of the front, and a terrace of twenty feet wide beyond this."

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant '''Portico''' on its northern [front], and a [[piazza|Piaza]] [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* <div id="Miller"></div>[[Lewis Miller|Miller, Lewis]], June 5, 1849, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (c. 1850: 108) <ref> Lewis Miller, ''Orbis Pictus: A Picturesque Album to the Ladies of York, Pennsylvania'', (Williamsburg, Va: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, c. 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XNQR79ST\ view on Zotero.] </ref>[[#Miller_cite|back up to history]]

: "The mansion house itself appears venerable and convenient[.] A lofty '''portico''' ninety-six feet in length, Supported by Eight [[pillar]]s, has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."

===Citations===

* [[A.-J Dézallier d’Argenville|[Dézallier d’Argenville, A.-J.]]], 1712, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' ([1712] 1969: 72) <ref name="Argenville_1712">[A.-J. (Antoine Joseph) Dézallier d'Argenville], ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening; wherein is fully handled all that relates to fine gardens, . . . containing divers plans, and general dispositions of gardens; . . .'' (English-language edition prepared by John James from the 1709 French original and printed in London by Geo. James, 1712. Reprint, Farnborough, England: Gregg, 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ87 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A '''PORTICO''' . . . being the Entrance in Front of a Summer-House, Salon, or [[Arbor]] of Latticework, and is generally adorn'd with a handsome Cornice and Frontispiece, supported by Pilasters or Peers; or else it is a long Decoration of Architecture placed against a [[Wall]], or at the Entrance of a Wood, where the Advances and Returns are but inconsiderable.
<p></p>
: "[[ARBORS]], Cabinets, and '''Porticos''' of Latticework, are commonly made use of to terminate a Garden in the City, and to shut out the Sight of Walls, and other disagreeable Objects; this Kind of Decoration making a handsome Sight, and serving very well to conclude the [[Prospect]] of a principal [[Walk]]."

[[File:1715.jpg|thumb|Fig. 31, [[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a Temple", 1728.]]
* [[James Gibbs|Gibbs, James]], 1728, ''A Book of Architecture'' (n.p.) <ref>James Gibbs, ''A Book of Architecture, Containing Designs of Buildings and Ornaments'', 2nd edn (London: W. Innys and R. Manby, 1739), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Z8U3MQ7H view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]], made for a Person of Quality, and proposed to have been placed in the Center of four [[Walk]]s; so that a '''Portico''' might front each [[Walk]]." [Fig. 31]

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">[[Ephraim Chambers]], ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[PIAZZA]], in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a '''portico''', or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See '''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or square; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or '''portico's''' around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO''', in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See [[PIAZZA]]. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO'''....
<p></p>
: "The roof is usually vaulted, sometimes flat. The ancients called it '''lacunar'''. See LACUNAR, VAULT, &c.
<p></p>
: "Though the word '''portico''' be derived from ''porta'', gate, door; yet it is applied to any disposition of [[column]]s which form a gallery, without any immediate relation to doors or gates.
<p></p>
: "The most celebrated '''portico's''' of antiquity were those of Solomon's [[temple]], which formed the atrium or court, and encompassed the sanctuary: that of Athens, built for the people to divert themselves in, and wherein the philosophers held their disputes and conversations; which occasioned the disciples of Zeno to be called stoics....
<p></p>
: "Among the modern '''portico's''', the most celebrated is the [[piazza]] of St. Peter of the Vatican.— That of Covent-Garden, London, the work of Inigo Jones, is also much admired."

* [[Samuel Johnson|Johnson, Samuel]], 1755, ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (2:n.p.) <ref name="Johnson_1755">Samuel Johnson, Samuel, ''A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words are Deduced from the Originals and Illustrated in the Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers'', 2 vols. (London: W. Strahan for J. and P. Knapton, 1755) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GE2JPJR3 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PO'RTICO'''. n.s. [''porticus'', Lat. ''portico'', Italian; ''portique'', Fr.] A covered [[walk]]; a [[piazza]]."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31) <ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with arches, in the manner of a gallery. The '''portico''' is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The '''portico''' is a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner. The word seems to refer to the gate or entrance of some place, ''porta'' in Latin signifying a gate; but it is appropriated to a disposition of [[column]]s, forming this kind of gallery, and has no relation to the openings."

* [[William Salmon|Salmon, William]], 1762, ''Palladio Londinensis'' (n.p.)<ref>William Salmon, ''Palladio Londinensis, or The London Art of Building: In Three Parts . . . with Fifty-Four Copper Plates, to Which Is Annexed, The Builder’s Dictionary'', ed. by E. Hoppus, 6th edn (London: Printed for C. Hitch et al, 1762), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IEIQ5QGM view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[Piazza]], in Architecture, commonly called ''Piache'', an ''Italian'' Name for a '''Portico'''; it signifies a broad open Place or Square, whence it became applied to [[Walk]]s or '''Porticos''' of [[Pillar]]s around them, like those of ''Covent Garden'', the ''Royal Exchange'', &c."

* [[Thomas Sheridan|Sheridan, Thomas]], 1789, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref>Thomas A. Sheridan, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language, Carefully Revised and Corrected by John Andrews....'', 5th ed. (Philadelphia: William Young, 1789), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5GU4CBQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', pa'r-ty-ko. s. A covered [[walk]], a [[piazza]]."

* [[William Marshall|Marshall, William]], 1803, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament'' (1:266) <ref>William Marshall, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament: A Practical Treatise. . . .'', 2 vols. (London: G. and W. Nicol, G. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, and W. Davies, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K48D75JJ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "IN extensive grounds, RETREATS, more especially in the remoter parts, are in a degree requisite; and, if they be seen, they ought to harmonize with the views in which they appear; and, of course, the more polished the scene, the more ornamental should be the Retreat,—whether it be the Room, the '''Portico''', or the more simple [[Alcove]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (p. 356)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th edn (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "1809. [[Porch]]es and '''porticoes''' . . . are sometimes employed as decorative marks to the entrances of scenes; and sometimes merely as roofs to shelter seats or resting benches." [See Fig. 27]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticu''s, from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground, or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s; a covered [[walk]]. The roof is sometimes flat; sometimes vaulted. ''Encyc''."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]] 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 848)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'', (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET| view on Zotero.] </ref>
: "'''POR'TI-CO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticus'', from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''architecture, originally'', a colonnade or covered ambulatory; but at present, a covered space, inclosed by [[column]]s at the entrance of a building. P. Cyc."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376) <ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero.]</ref> [[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the [[veranda|''veranda''], or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long [[veranda]] round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of the cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by [[veranda]]s, '''porticoes''', etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

[[File:0780.jpg|thumb|Fig. 32, [[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., 1851.]]
* [[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:14) <ref>William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "On the east side are two bay windows, one on each side of the principal entrance, which has a '''portico''' supported by fluted Corinthian [[column]]s. On the south is a flat-roofed [[piazza]], with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s." [Fig. 32]

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1056.jpg|[[Michael van der Gucht]], ''A Large Portico at the Entrance of Arbor-Work, A Cabinet of Arbor Work open at top, and A Salon for an Entrance of an Arbor'', 1712.
File:1715.jpg|[[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]]", 1728, in ''A Book of Architecture, containing designs of buildings and ornaments'' (1728), pl. 67.
File:1448.jpg|[[Batty Langley]] and [[Thomas Langley]], ''Gothick [sic] Portico'', in ''Gothic Architecture, Improved by Rules and Proportions in many Ground Designs'' (1747), pl. 32.
File:0087.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796.
File:0610.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of the East front of the [[White House|President's House]], with the additions of the North & South Porticos", 1807.
File:1237.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "General Plan of a Marine Asylum and Hospital proposed to be built at Washington", 1812. "Portico" is inscribed at the Western entrance.
File:1221.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Plan of wings and courtyards, South Carolina Insane Asylum, 1821, in John M. Bryan, ed., ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), plate 10. "Portico" is inscribed near the bottom of the plan.
File:1332.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], "Porches and Porticoes", in J.C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of gardening'', (1826), p. 356, fig. 330.
File:0580.jpg|[[Lewis Miller]], "[[Mount Vernon]]", 1835.
File:1227.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Patent Office Wings, 1842, in Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, ''Altogether American: Robert Mills, Architect and Engineer, 1781-1855'' (1994), p. 232, fig. 86b.
File:1225.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], "Projection of the Fire-Proof Buildings for the Navy & War Depts.", c. 1843, in John M. Bryan, ''Robert Mills: America's First Architect'' (2001), p. 249. "Portico" is inscribed on both the north and south entrance.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0826.jpg|[[James Peller Malcolm]], The [[Woodlands]] From the Bridge at Gray's Ferry, c. 1792, in Beth C. Wees and Medill H. Harvey, ''Early American Silver in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'' (2013), p. 259.
File:0341.jpg|George Isham Parkyns, Mount Vernon, 1795.
File:0089.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking towards the South", 1796.
File:0710.jpg|[[J. Weiss]], ''Home of George Washington, "The Father of His Country"'', 1797.
File:0345.jpg|Alexander Robertson (artist), Francis Jukes (engraver), "Mount Vernon in Virginia," 1800.
File:1256.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], West Elevation of the Final Version of Monticello, c. 1803.
File:0344.jpg|[[George Ropes]], ''Mount Vernon'', 1806.
File:0314.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "[[Mount Vernon]], Virginia, the [[Seat]] of the late [[George Washington|Genl. G. Washington]]", 1808.
File:0051.jpg|[[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809.
File:0838.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], ''Monte Video—near Avon'' [detail], c. 1810-1819, in Richard Saunders and Helen Raye, ''Daniel Wadsworth, Patron of the Arts. Hartford'' (1981), p. 56, pl. 16.
File:0551.jpg|John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1811-12.
File:1220.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Front elevation, South Carolina Insane Asylum, c.1820, in John M. Bryan, ed. ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), pl. 7.
File:1051.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], "Monte Video, Approach to the House," in Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (1824), pl. opp. p. 16.
File:0079.jpg|[[Jane Braddick]], ''View of West Front of [[Monticello]] and Garden'', 1825.
File:0646.jpg|Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.
File:0549.jpg|[[Victor De Grailly]], ''View of Mount Vernon'', c.1840–50.
File:0550.jpg|[[Victor de Grailly]], ''Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon'', c.1840-50.
File:0328.jpg|Unknown, "Front View of the Mansion at Mount Vernon", in Franklin Knight ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.14.
File:0329.jpg|Anonymous, A. Kollner (lithographer), "North West View of the Mansion of George Washington Mount Vernon," in Franklin Knight, ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.124.
File:0778.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Italian Bracketed Villa," in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 7.
File:0779.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], South Front Elevation of Italian Bracketed Villa, in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0780.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0334.jpg|Middleton, Strobridge & Co. (engraver), "Mount Vernon, the home of Washington," c. 1861.

File:0836.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], Architectural Details: Gothic Fireplace and Portico

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0190.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Charles Carroll'', c. 1770.
File:0021.jpg|Cornelius Tiebout, "A View of the present Seat of His Excel. the Vice President of the United States", 1790.
File:1229.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Garden temple elevations and floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1230.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Side elevation and basement floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1231.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Lodge - Sections showing interior elevation, c.1795-1799.
File:0083.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], ''Sedgeley'', 1799.
File:0404.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "Elevation of the South front of the President's house, copied from the design as proposed to be altered in 1807," January 1817.
File:0990.jpg|[[Thomas Birch]],''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819.
File:0020.jpg|Mdme. Janika de Feriet, ''The Hermitage'', c. 1820.
File:0739.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], Landsdown, pre 1834.
File:0025.jpg|Robert P. Smith, "View of Washington", 1850.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Veranda

2015-07-02T16:22:52Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> [[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery.<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, ([[#Ranlett|view citation]]) who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose. They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850)([[#Downing1|view citation]]) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] ([[#Downing2|view citation]]) described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett ([[#Ranlett2|view citation]]) sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850)([[#Downing1|view citation]]) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] ([[#Mason|view text]]) recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

Image:1755.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], Nutt's hive placed in the front of a veranda, in ''The Suburban Gardener'' (1838), p. 714, fig. 307.

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.
File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.
File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Porch

2015-07-02T16:19:00Z

K-perkov:

Veranda

2015-07-02T16:18:50Z

K-perkov:

(Verandah)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]],"York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], veranda, [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or veranda, as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> <span id="Latrobe_cite">[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] ([[#Latrobe|view text]]) mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery. Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect <span id="Ranlett_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, ([[#Ranlett|view citation]]) who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose. They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850)([[#Downing1|view citation]]) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or veranda in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "veranda" (also spelled verandah) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term 'verandah,' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that veranda served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. <span id="Downing2_cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] ([[#Downing2|view citation]]) described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered verandas. Some writers refer to arbor-verandas and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the veranda.

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "[[piazza]]." <span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett ([[#Ranlett2|view citation]]) sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "veranda" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the veranda where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "veranda".

<span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850)([[#Downing1|view citation]]) expounded at length on the meaning of the veranda, which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the veranda, in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the veranda was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the veranda as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the veranda, the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the veranda as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, verandah," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to [[piazza]], veranda, or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] ([[#Mason|view text]]) recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* [[Pehr Kalm|Kalm, Pehr]], October 29, 1748, describing New Brunswick, N.J. (1937: 1:121)<ref>Kalm, Pehr. 1937. ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm’s Travels in North America. The English Version of 1770''. 2 vols. New York: Wilson-Erickson. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/94EZM2V4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The houses are covered with shingles. Before each door is a '''veranda''' to which you ascend by steps from the street; it resembles a small balcony, and has benches on both sides on which the people sit in the evening to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the passers-by."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Charleston, S.C. (2:125)<ref name="Lambert 1816">John Lambert, T''ravels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost every house is furnished with balconies and '''verandas''', some of which occupy the whole side of the building from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98)<ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a '''verandah''' or [[piazza]], from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing Alabama (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:389)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We soon left our comfortless abode [the inn] for as neat and trig [''sic''] a little villa as ever was seen in or out of the Tropics. This mansion, which in India would be called a Bungalow, was surrounded by white railings, within which lay an ornamental garden, intersected by gravel [[walk]]s, almost too thickly shaded by orange hedges, all in flower. From the light airy '''verandah''', we might look upon the Bay of Mobile. . . .Many similar houses nearly as [[picturesque]] as our own delightful habitation, speckled the landscape in the south and east, in rich keeping with the luxuriant foliage of that evergreen latitude."

*[[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81)

: "The house was quadrangular . . . [and] was built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed '''verandas''', supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the [[piazza]] was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 23, 1845, describing Charleston, S.C. (1849: 1:229)<ref name="Lyell_1849">Sir Charles Lyell, ''A Second Visit to the United States of North America'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DU6NKKZ5 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Almost all the best houses in Charleston are built with '''verandahs''', and surrounded with gardens."

* [[Sir Charles Lyell|Lyell, Sir Charles]], December 28, 1845, describing Beaufort, S.C. (1849: 1:231)<ref name="Lyell_1849"></ref>

: "we approached Beaufort, a [[picturesque]] town composed of an assemblage of villas, the summer residences of numerous planters, who retire here during the hot season, when the interior of South Carolina is unhealthy for the whites. Each villa is shaded by a '''verandah''', surrounded by beautiful live oaks and orange trees laden with fruit."

[[File:0961.jpg|thumb|Fig. 24, [[J. C. Loudon]], Perspective view of a house in the village of Riceborough, 1850.]]
* [[Pliny Earle|Earle, Pliny]], January 1848, describing [[Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane]], New York, N.Y. (''Journal of Medicine'' 10: 64)

: "The Physicians who object to [[yard]]s, or courts, advocate, as a substitute, open '''verandahs''' guarded by lattice-work, such as are found at the Massachusetts State Lunatic Hospital, and at some of the other institutions of this country."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing Riceborough, Ga.(p. 332)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', A new ed., cor. amd improved (London: Longman et al, 1850) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG view on Zotero]</ref>

: "854. . . . The village of Riceborough . . . is very [[picturesque]]. Most of the houses have '''verandas'''.... (''Hall's Sketches, &c.'', and ''Three Years in North America, &c.'')" [Fig. 24]

* <div id="Latrobe"></div>[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe|Latrobe, Mary Elizabeth]], April 18, 1820, describing the home of [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], New Orleans, La. (1951: 181)<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> [[#Latrobe_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our lot is 360 feet and 64 front, the house is up 16 steps with a [[Piazza]] (or Gallery as they call them here) the whole length of the house front and back, there is no entry or passage like our Baltimore houses."

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''VERAN'DA''', n. An oriental word denoting a kind of open [[portico]], formed by extending a sloping roof beyond the main building. ''Todd''."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1836, "Remarks on the Fitness of the different Styles of Architecture for the Construction of Country Residences, and on the Employment of Vases in Garden Scenery" (''American Gardeners' Magazine'' 2: 283)

: "There can scarcely be a more appropriate, agreeable and beautiful residence for a citizen who retires to the country for the summer, than a modern Italian villa, with its ornamented chimneys, its broad '''verandah''', forming a fine shady promenade, and its cool breezy apartments."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376)<ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long '''veranda''' round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by '''verandas''', [[portico]]es, etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

* <div id="Ranlett"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name= "Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''Verandas''', [[piazza]]s and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* [[Walter Elder|Elder, Walter]], 1849, ''The Cottage Garden of America'' (p. 218)<ref>Walter Elder, ''The Cottage Garden of America'', (Philadelphia: Moss, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NNC7BTFT view on Zotero]</ref>

: "A. What a fine place you have got! that is a neat, well painted front fence; the flower [[plat]] between it and the house, with the evergreen in the centre is beautiful, and that '''verandah''' over the door, covered with flowering vines, looks well."

[[File:0919.jpg|thumb|Fig. 25, Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", 1850.]]
[[File:1308.jpg|thumb|Fig. 26, Anonymous, "Regular Bracketed Cottage", 1850.]]
* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 47, 109-10, 112-13, 118, 119-20, 122-23, 281, 308, 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "A much higher character is conferred on a simple cottage by a '''veranda''' than by a highly ornamental gable, because one indicates the constant means of enjoyment for the inmates—something in their daily life besides ministering to the necessities—while a more ornamental vergeboard shows something, the beauty of which is not so directly connected with the life of the owner of the cottage, and which is therefore less expressive, as well as less useful. . . .
<p></p>
: "[Referring to Design VII] The [[trellis]]-work '''veranda''' along the front of this cottage, and the bay-window in the best apartment, convey at once an expression of beauty arising from a sense of a superior comfort or refinement in the mode of living; and the whole exterior effect, without having any decided architectural merit, is one which we should be very glad to see followed in suburban houses of this class. . . . [Fig. 25]
<p></p>
: "In the Design [VIII] before us . . . there is an air of rustic or rural beauty conferred on the whole cottage by the simple, or '''veranda'''-like [[arbor]], or [[trellis]], which runs round three sides of the building; as well as an expression of [[picturesque|picturesqueness]], by the roof supported on ornamental brackets and casting deep shadows upon the walls.
<p></p>
: "To become aware how much this beauty of expression has to do with rendering this cottage interesting, we have only to imagine it stripped of the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''' and the projecting eaves, and it becomes in appearance only the most meagre and common-place building, which may be a house or a barn: at the most, it would indicate nothing more by its chimneys and windows, than that it is a human habitation, and not, as at present, that it is the dwelling of a family who have some rural taste, and some love for [[picturesque]] character in a house. ... [Fig. 26]
<p></p>
: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the '''veranda''', or [[piazza]]. In a cool climate, like that of England, the '''veranda''' is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a '''veranda''' is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without '''verandas'''. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the '''veranda''' should find its place; or, if not an architectural '''veranda''', then, at least, the [[arbor]]-'''veranda''', covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no '''veranda'''-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], July 1850, "A Few Words on Rural Architecture" ('''Horticulturist''' 5: 10)

: "There are, indeed, few things so beautiful as a cottage of this kind, well designed and tastefully placed. There is nothing, all the world over, so truly rural and so unmistakably country-like as this very cottage, which has been developed in so much perfection in the rural lanes and amidst the [[picturesque]] lights and shadows of an English landscape. And for this reason, because it is essentially rural and country-like, we gladly welcome its general naturalization, (with the needful variation of the '''veranda''', &c., demanded by our climate,) as the type of most of our country dwellings."

* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a [[piazza]]; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a '''veranda'''. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking [[piazza]]s on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1247.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1247_detail.jpg|Detail of [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], Villa for David Codwise, Elevation and Four Plans, 1835. "Veranda" is inscribed at the main entrance to the principal floor and off the drawing room.
File:1151.jpg|Joseph C. Wells, Ground-floor plan, c. 1846.
File:0950.jpg|Anonymous, ""Design for a Country House"", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (December 1849): pl. opp. p. 249.
File:0951.jpg|Anonymous, "Cottage Villa of Wm. J. Rotch, Esq. New Beford, Mass.", in ''The Horticulturist'' 4 (November 1849): pl. opp. p. 201. "Veranda" is inscribed on either side of the front [[porch]].
File:0919.jpg|Anonymous, "Suburban Cottage", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 109, Figs. 33 and 34.
File:0917.jpg|Anonymous, "Bracketed Cottage, with Veranda", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), p. 119, figs. 42-43.
File:1978.jpg|Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a small bracketed Country House, in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. pl. 276, figs. 111.
File:1837.jpg|Anonymous, "A Country House in the Pointed Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), Design XXV, pl. opp. p. 304, fig. 133 and 134.
File:1003.jpg|Anonymous, "Design for a Cottage for a Country Clergyman", in ''The Horticulturist'' 6 (July 1851): pl. opp.p. 297.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0350.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849, in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'', (1849), frontispiece.
File:1836.jpg|Anonymous, "Villa in the Norman Style", in A.J. Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850), pl. opp. p. 280, fig. 114, Design XX.
File:0789.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], ''Wynne Tún'', in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0955.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood," c.1841.

</gallery>

==Notes==
<references></references>

Portico

2015-07-02T16:18:48Z

K-perkov:

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the [[piazza]], [[veranda]], [[porch]], and portico in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the [[piazza]], a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" [Fig. 1].<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref> The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed [[piazza]], or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> <span id="Latrobe_cite">[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] ([[#Latrobe|view text]]) mentioned that in New Orleans the [[piazza]] was known as the gallery. Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "portico" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "[[piazza]]" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the porticos. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the [[piazza]] as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The [[piazza]] was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed [[piazza]]s depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "[[piazza]]" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the [[piazza]] was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the [[piazza]] projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having [[piazza]]s on all four sides. Both one- and two-story [[piazza]]s were also built. Second, "[[piazza]]" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height [[piazza]], such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, [[piazza]]s linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner, (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The [[piazza]]'s basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A [[piazza]] might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as Harriet Martineau described one in 1835, "draperied with vines." Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. James E. Teschemacher (1835), however, described and illustrated a [[piazza]] with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es. Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the [[piazza]]s had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised [[piazza]]s for their "very expressive" purpose. They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one [[piazza]] was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the [[piazza]]s might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [[piazza|[piazzas]]]." He regarded the absence of a [[piazza]] on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views. Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a [[piazza]] or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "portico," and "[[piazza]]." Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "[[piazza]]" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and [[piazza]]s for galleries running along the façades.

The term "portico" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "[[piazza]]" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the portico, as opposed to [[piazza]], [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "portico" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
<span id="Smith_cite"></span> Margaret Bayard Smith ([[#Smith|view text]]) in 1828 said the portico at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the portico until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] ([[#Mason|view text]]) recalled the portico at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." <span id="Downing2_cite"></span>[[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 ([[#Downing2|view citation]]) comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the portico served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. [[Lewis Miller|Miller]] noted on his drawing that "A lofty portico ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The portico served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. <span id="Miller_cite"></span> [[Lewis Miller]], ([[#Miller|view text]]) for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty portico . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the portico was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood portico. As <span id="Warden_cite"></span> [[David Bailie Warden]] ([[#Warden|view text]]) noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
Porticos generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

* Anonymous, 1737, describing in the ''St. Philip's Parish Vestry Book'' St. Philip's Parish, Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "[Workmen recommended the constructions of] a large Cornish under ye eves & round ye '''Porticoes'''."

* [[Charles Carroll|Carroll, Charles]] (the Barrister), July 2, 1767, describing [[Mount Clare]], [[plantation]] of Charles and Margaret Tilghman Carroll, Baltimore, Md. (quoted in Trostel 1981: 34)<ref>Michael Trostel, ''Mount Clare, Being an Account of the Seat Built by Charles Carroll, Barrister, upon His Lands at Patapsco'' (Baltimore: National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland, 1981), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/NTB2KX7C view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The Plan is for a '''Portico''' or Colonade to be Joined to the Front of a House and Project Eight Feet from it, An [[Arch]] at Both Ends, for a Passage through it, to Spring from Pilasters of Stone Joined to the End [[Pillar]]s of the front of the '''Portico''' and the two three Quarter Round [[Column]]s, I think they Call them, that Run up Close to the wall of the House."

* Anonymous, 1769, describing in the ''Georgia Gazette'' a proposed Presbyterian meetinghouse in Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[The meetinghouse was to be] 80 feet long by 47 feet wide . . . with a handsome light steeple in proportion to the frame, a portico at one end of 50 by 10 feet."

* [[Philip Vickers Fithian|Fithian, Philip Vickers]], March 18, 1774, describing [[Nomini Hall]], Westmoreland County, Va. (1943: 107)<ref>Philip Vickers Fithian, ''Journal & Letters of Philip Vickers Fithian, 1773-1774: A Plantation Tutor of the Old Dominion'', ed. by Hunter D. Farish (Williamsburg, Va.: Colonial Williamsburg, 1943) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XJX4WV8F view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The North side [of [[Nomini Hall|Nomini Hall]]] I think is most beautiful of all; In the upper Story is a Row of seven Windows with eighteen Lights a piece; and below six windows, with the like number of lights; besides a large '''Portico''' in the middle, at the sides of which are two Windows each with eighteen Lights."

* [[Ebenezer Hazard|[Hazard, Ebenezer]], May 31, 1777, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Shelley 1954: 405)<ref> Fred Shelley, "The Journal of Ebenezer Hazard in Virginia, 1777", ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 62 (1954):400-423, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q8VUV2A3: view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Wings are on the West Front, between them is a covered Parade, which reaches from the one to the other; the '''Portico''' is supported by Stone [[Pillar]]s."

* [[Jonathan Clark|Clark, Jonathan]], 1786, describing a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 287) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"> </ref>

: "[There was a] fraimed dwelling house 26 by 20 . . . and a '''portico''' the length of the fraimed house five feet wide."

* [[ J. P. Brissot de Warville|Brissot de Warville, J. P.]], 1792, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Lockwood 1934: 2:61)<ref>Alice B. Lockwood, ed., ''Gardens of Colony and State: Gardens and Gardeners of the American Colonies and of the Republic before 1840'', 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s for the Garden Club of America, 1931-34), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/JNB7BI9T view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I hastened to arrive at [[Mount Vernon]]. . . . after having passed over two hills, you discover a country house of an elegant and majestic simplicity. . . . This house overlooks the Potomack, enjoys an extensive prospect, has a vast and elegant '''portico''' on the front next to the river, and a convenient distribution of the apartments within."

[[File:0087.jpg|thumb|Fig. 29, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796. "The portico faces to the East."]]
* [[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1795, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1799: 207)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "In the center is another very spacious apartment, of an octagon form, reaching from the front to the rear of the house, the large folding glass doors of which, at each end, open under a '''portico'''."

* [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], July 19 1796, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (1977: 1:163) <ref>Benjamin Henry Latrobe, ''The Virginia Journals of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1798'', ed. Edward C. Carter II, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SZEEBG9K view on Zotero]. </ref>

: "The House is connected with the Kitchen offices by [[arcade]]s. . . . Along the other front is a '''portico''' supported by 8 square [[pillar]]s, of good proportions and effect." [Fig. 29]

* Anonymous, 1803, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Fredericksburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 286)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "commodious close [[porch]] in front, and an open '''portico''' in the rear."

* Anonymous, August 9, 1805, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Stafford County, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "FOR LEASE, A Lot of Land. . . . On the above lot there is two convenient Dwelling houses, situate near each other, with two rooms on a floor and a '''portico''' to each, the whole length of the house, and convenient closets."

* [[Joseph Scott|Scott, Joseph]], 1806, describing Centre Square and Waterworks, Philadelphia, Pa. (p. 25)<ref>Joseph A. Scott, ''Geographical Description of Pennsylvania'' (Philadelphia: Printed by R. Cochran, 1806), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/55XKIWPN view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The water-works of Philadelphia are the most extensive of their kind of any in America. . . . The water is discharged into a circular aqueduct, extending along Chestnut and Broad streets, into the middle of Market-street, in the centre square. . . . The building in the centre square, is a square of sixty feet, with a Doric '''portico''' on the east and west fronts. From its centre rises a circular tower, forty feet in diameter. It is covered by a dome. The tower contains the engine and reservoir . . . large enough to contain 20,000 gallons, all the chimnies of the house, which form a marble pedestal, on the summit. The shafts of the [[column]]s of the '''porticos''', consist each of one solid block of marble, 14 feet 9 inches in length, and two feet nine inches in diameter, at the base."[See Fig. 15]

[[File:0051.jpg|thumb|Fig. 30, [[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809]]
* [[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the [[Woodlands]], seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)

: "The Garden consists of a large verdant [[lawn]] surrounded by a belt or [[walk]], & [[shrubbery]] for some distance. the outer side of the [[walk]] is adorned here & there, by scattered forest trees, thick & thin. It is bounded, partly as is described—partly by the Schylkill [''sic''] & a creek exhibiting a Mill & where it is scarcely noticed, by a common post and rail. The [[walk]] is said to be a mile long—perhaps it is something less. one is led in to the garden from the '''portico''', to the east and lefthand. or from the park, by a small gate contiguous to the house. traversing this walk, one sees many beauties of landscape—also a fine statue, symbol of Winter & age." [Fig. 30]

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 20, 1809, describing Philadelphia, Pa. (CWF)

: "The building in Centre Square, is Sixty feet in every direction; having a Doric '''portico''' in front, to the East & West."

* [[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], 1812, describing [[Monticello]], [[plantation]] of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (1954: 144) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America: Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. by Richard Beale Davis (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house has two '''porticoes''' of the Doric order, though one of them was not quite completed, and the pediment had in the meanwhile to be supported on the stems of four tulip trees, which are really, when well grown, as beautiful as the fluted shafts of Corinthian [[pillar]]s. They front north and south."

* <div id="Warden"></div>[[David Bailie Warden|Warden, David Bailie]], 1816, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (p. 156)<ref name="Warden_1816">Warden, David Bailie. 1816. ''A Chronographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia''. Paris: Printed and sold by Smith. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QF8TXC8D view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Warden_cite|back up to history]]

: "The establishment of George Calvert, Esq. at Bladensburg, attracts attention. His mansion, consisting of two stories, seventy feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth, is admirably adapted to the American climate. On each side there is a large '''portico''', which shelters from the sun, rain, or snow."

* Anonymous, September 30, 1820, describing in the ''Virginia Herald'' a property for rent in Culpeper County, Va. (CWF)

: "I will sell my tavern establishment . . . consisting of . . . A large and commodious house with four rooms below stairs and eight above, with two large '''porticoes'''—a new smoke house, a new [[icehouse|ice house.]]"

* [[Benjamin Silliman|Silliman, Benjamin]], 1824, describing [[Monte Video]], property of Daniel Wadsworth, Avon, Conn. (p. 12)<ref>Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (New Haven, Conn.: S. Converse, 1824), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/B5VWTWM5 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "To the west, the [[lawn]] rises gradually from the water, until it reaches the '''portico''' of the house, near the brow of the mountain, beyond which, the western valley is again seen."

* [[George Ticknor|Ticknor, George]], December 16, 1824, in a letter to William H. Prescott, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (quoted in Jones 1957: 7)<ref name="Jones_1957">Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "We were received with a good deal of dignity and much cordiality, by Mr. and Mrs. Madison, in the '''portico''', and immediately placed at ease."

* [[Frederick Douglass|Douglass, Frederick]], 1825, describing Wye House, estate of Col. Edward Lloyd, Talbot County, Md. ([1855] 1987: 47) <ref>Frederick Douglass, ''My Bondage and My Freedom'', ed. by William L. Andrews (Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Q764CVCK view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The great house itself was a large, white, wooden building, with wings on three sides of it. In front, a large '''portico''', extending the entire length of the building, and supported by a long range of [[column]]s, gave to the whole establishment an air of solemn grandeur."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 2, 1828, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1906: 226) <ref name="Smith_1906">Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The rotunda is in form and proportioned like the Pantheon at Rome. It has a noble '''portico''',— the [[pillars]], cornice, &c of the Corinthian."

* <div id="Smith"></div>[[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], August 17, 1828, describing Montpelier, plantation of James Madison, Montpelier Station, Va. (1906: 233, 235-36)<ref name="Smith_1906"></ref> [[#Smith_cite|back up to history]]

: "We were at first conducted into the Drawing room, which opens on the back '''Portico''' and thus commands a view through the whole house, which is surrounded with an extensive [[lawn]], as green as in spring; the [[lawn]] is enclosed with fine trees, chiefly forest, but interspersed with weeping willows and other ornamental trees, all of most luxuriant growth and vivid verdure. It was a beautiful scene! . . . After dinner, we all walked in the '''Portico''', (or [[piazza]], which is 60 feet long, supported on six lofty [[pillar]]s) until twilight." [See Fig. 16]

* Anonymous, June 1829, describing [[Sedgeley]], seat of [[James C. Fisher]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (''The Casket'' 4: 265)

: "The mansion was designed and erected under the superintendance of the late Mr. Latrobe, and has been much admired for its architectural beauty. The style is Gothic, with a '''portico''' front and rear, supported by eight [[column]]s each. It presents a length of seventy-five feet, and is well adapted in the arrangement of the interior for a gentleman's residence." [See Fig. 19]

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

* [[George William Featherstonhaugh|Featherstonhaugh, George William]], August 18 and 19 1837, describing [[Fort Hill]], seat of John C. Calhoun, Clemson, S.C. (quoted in Jones 1957: 126)<ref name="Jones_1957"></ref>

: "After partaking of an excellent dinner we adjourned for the evening to the '''portico''', where with the aid of a guitar, accompanied by a pleasing voice, and some capital curds and cream, we prolonged a most agreeable conversazione until a late hour. . . .
<p></p>
: "On our return to Fort Hill, the family again assembled in the portico to pass a most agreeable evening."

* [[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "Behind the "Bachelor's Row," and on the upper part of the hill is an imposing edifice of brick, called "Society Hall." It is built of two stories, with a fine '''portico''' of twelve feet wide, running the whole length of the front, and a terrace of twenty feet wide beyond this."

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant '''Portico''' on its northern [front], and a [[piazza|Piaza]] [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* <div id="Miller"></div>[[Lewis Miller|Miller, Lewis]], June 5, 1849, describing [[Mount Vernon]], plantation of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (c. 1850: 108) <ref> Lewis Miller, ''Orbis Pictus: A Picturesque Album to the Ladies of York, Pennsylvania'', (Williamsburg, Va: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, c. 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/XNQR79ST\ view on Zotero.] </ref>[[#Miller_cite|back up to history]]

: "The mansion house itself appears venerable and convenient[.] A lofty '''portico''' ninety-six feet in length, Supported by Eight [[pillar]]s, has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."

* <div id="Latrobe"></div>[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe|Latrobe, Mary Elizabeth]], April 18, 1820, describing the home of [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], New Orleans, La. (1951: 181)<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> [[#Latrobe_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our lot is 360 feet and 64 front, the house is up 16 steps with a [[Piazza]] (or Gallery as they call them here) the whole length of the house front and back, there is no entry or passage like our Baltimore houses."

* <div id="Birch"></div> [[William Russell Birch|Birch, William Russell]], 1808, describing [[York Island]], Long Island, N.Y. (n.p.)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Birch_cite|back up to history]]

: "This [[view]] is taken from the [[piazza]] of the [[seat]] of General Stevens on Long Island, near that extraordinary channel called Hell-gate, on the East river, or sound. The [[view]] was taken in the morning at the rising of the sun, when a glow of light from the arch of Heaven, exhibited to the [[view]] almost innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose, like so many stars in the firmament, upon the face of this beautifully variegated Island. The scene extending [sic] across the North river to the Jersey shore." [See Fig. 1]

===Citations===

* [[A.-J Dézallier d’Argenville|[Dézallier d’Argenville, A.-J.]]], 1712, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'' ([1712] 1969: 72) <ref name="Argenville_1712">[A.-J. (Antoine Joseph) Dézallier d'Argenville], ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening; wherein is fully handled all that relates to fine gardens, . . . containing divers plans, and general dispositions of gardens; . . .'' (English-language edition prepared by John James from the 1709 French original and printed in London by Geo. James, 1712. Reprint, Farnborough, England: Gregg, 1969), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ87 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A '''PORTICO''' . . . being the Entrance in Front of a Summer-House, Salon, or [[Arbor]] of Latticework, and is generally adorn'd with a handsome Cornice and Frontispiece, supported by Pilasters or Peers; or else it is a long Decoration of Architecture placed against a [[Wall]], or at the Entrance of a Wood, where the Advances and Returns are but inconsiderable.
<p></p>
: "[[ARBORS]], Cabinets, and '''Porticos''' of Latticework, are commonly made use of to terminate a Garden in the City, and to shut out the Sight of Walls, and other disagreeable Objects; this Kind of Decoration making a handsome Sight, and serving very well to conclude the [[Prospect]] of a principal [[Walk]]."

[[File:1715.jpg|thumb|Fig. 31, [[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a Temple", 1728.]]
* [[James Gibbs|Gibbs, James]], 1728, ''A Book of Architecture'' (n.p.) <ref>James Gibbs, ''A Book of Architecture, Containing Designs of Buildings and Ornaments'', 2nd edn (London: W. Innys and R. Manby, 1739), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/Z8U3MQ7H view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]], made for a Person of Quality, and proposed to have been placed in the Center of four [[Walk]]s; so that a '''Portico''' might front each [[Walk]]." [Fig. 31]

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">[[Ephraim Chambers]], ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[PIAZZA]], in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a '''portico''', or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See '''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or square; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or '''portico's''' around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO''', in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See [[PIAZZA]]. . . .
<p></p>
: "'''PORTICO'''....
<p></p>
: "The roof is usually vaulted, sometimes flat. The ancients called it '''lacunar'''. See LACUNAR, VAULT, &c.
<p></p>
: "Though the word '''portico''' be derived from ''porta'', gate, door; yet it is applied to any disposition of [[column]]s which form a gallery, without any immediate relation to doors or gates.
<p></p>
: "The most celebrated '''portico's''' of antiquity were those of Solomon's [[temple]], which formed the atrium or court, and encompassed the sanctuary: that of Athens, built for the people to divert themselves in, and wherein the philosophers held their disputes and conversations; which occasioned the disciples of Zeno to be called stoics....
<p></p>
: "Among the modern '''portico's''', the most celebrated is the [[piazza]] of St. Peter of the Vatican.— That of Covent-Garden, London, the work of Inigo Jones, is also much admired."

* [[Samuel Johnson|Johnson, Samuel]], 1755, ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (2:n.p.) <ref name="Johnson_1755">Samuel Johnson, Samuel, ''A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which the Words are Deduced from the Originals and Illustrated in the Different Significations by Examples from the Best Writers'', 2 vols. (London: W. Strahan for J. and P. Knapton, 1755) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GE2JPJR3 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PO'RTICO'''. n.s. [''porticus'', Lat. ''portico'', Italian; ''portique'', Fr.] A covered [[walk]]; a [[piazza]]."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31) <ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO'''.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with arches, in the manner of a gallery. The '''portico''' is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The '''portico''' is a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner. The word seems to refer to the gate or entrance of some place, ''porta'' in Latin signifying a gate; but it is appropriated to a disposition of [[column]]s, forming this kind of gallery, and has no relation to the openings."

* [[William Salmon|Salmon, William]], 1762, ''Palladio Londinensis'' (n.p.)<ref>William Salmon, ''Palladio Londinensis, or The London Art of Building: In Three Parts . . . with Fifty-Four Copper Plates, to Which Is Annexed, The Builder’s Dictionary'', ed. by E. Hoppus, 6th edn (London: Printed for C. Hitch et al, 1762), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IEIQ5QGM view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "[[Piazza]], in Architecture, commonly called ''Piache'', an ''Italian'' Name for a '''Portico'''; it signifies a broad open Place or Square, whence it became applied to [[Walk]]s or '''Porticos''' of [[Pillar]]s around them, like those of ''Covent Garden'', the ''Royal Exchange'', &c."

* [[Thomas Sheridan|Sheridan, Thomas]], 1789, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref>Thomas A. Sheridan, ''A Complete Dictionary of the English Language, Carefully Revised and Corrected by John Andrews....'', 5th ed. (Philadelphia: William Young, 1789), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5GU4CBQ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', pa'r-ty-ko. s. A covered [[walk]], a [[piazza]]."

* [[William Marshall|Marshall, William]], 1803, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament'' (1:266) <ref>William Marshall, ''On Planting and Rural Ornament: A Practical Treatise. . . .'', 2 vols. (London: G. and W. Nicol, G. and J. Robinson, T. Cadell, and W. Davies, 1803), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K48D75JJ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "IN extensive grounds, RETREATS, more especially in the remoter parts, are in a degree requisite; and, if they be seen, they ought to harmonize with the views in which they appear; and, of course, the more polished the scene, the more ornamental should be the Retreat,—whether it be the Room, the '''Portico''', or the more simple [[Alcove]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (p. 356)<ref>J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th edn (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "1809. [[Porch]]es and '''porticoes''' . . . are sometimes employed as decorative marks to the entrances of scenes; and sometimes merely as roofs to shelter seats or resting benches." [See Fig. 27]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PORTICO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticu''s, from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground, or a [[piazza]] encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s; a covered [[walk]]. The roof is sometimes flat; sometimes vaulted. ''Encyc''."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]] 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 848)<ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'', (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET| view on Zotero.] </ref>
: "'''POR'TI-CO''', n. [It. ''portico''; L. ''porticus'', from ''porta'' or ''portus''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''architecture, originally'', a colonnade or covered ambulatory; but at present, a covered space, inclosed by [[column]]s at the entrance of a building. P. Cyc."

* <div id="Downing2"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (p. 376) <ref name="Downing_1849">A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture'', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5M4S2D64 view on Zotero.]</ref> [[#Downing2_cite|back up to history]]

: "In this country no architectural feature is more plainly expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the [[veranda|''veranda''], or [[piazza]]. The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long [[veranda]] round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved [[terrace]]s of the English mansions as the place for [[promenade]]; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of the cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night. . . .
<p></p>
: "The various projections and irregularities, caused by [[veranda]]s, '''porticoes''', etc., serve to connect the otherwise square masses of building, by gradual transition with the ground about it."

[[File:0780.jpg|thumb|Fig. 32, [[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., 1851.]]
* [[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:14) <ref>William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "On the east side are two bay windows, one on each side of the principal entrance, which has a '''portico''' supported by fluted Corinthian [[column]]s. On the south is a flat-roofed [[piazza]], with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s." [Fig. 32]

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1056.jpg|[[Michael van der Gucht]], ''A Large Portico at the Entrance of Arbor-Work, A Cabinet of Arbor Work open at top, and A Salon for an Entrance of an Arbor'', 1712.
File:1715.jpg|[[James Gibbs]], "The Plan, Upright and Section of a Building of the Dorick Order in the form of a [[Temple]]", 1728, in ''A Book of Architecture, containing designs of buildings and ornaments'' (1728), pl. 67.
File:1448.jpg|[[Batty Langley]] and [[Thomas Langley]], ''Gothick [sic] Portico'', in ''Gothic Architecture, Improved by Rules and Proportions in many Ground Designs'' (1747), pl. 32.
File:0087.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking to the North," July 17, 1796.
File:0610.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of the East front of the [[White House|President's House]], with the additions of the North & South Porticos", 1807.
File:1237.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "General Plan of a Marine Asylum and Hospital proposed to be built at Washington", 1812. "Portico" is inscribed at the Western entrance.
File:1221.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Plan of wings and courtyards, South Carolina Insane Asylum, 1821, in John M. Bryan, ed., ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), plate 10. "Portico" is inscribed near the bottom of the plan.
File:1332.jpg|[[J. C. Loudon]], "Porches and Porticoes", in J.C. Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of gardening'', (1826), p. 356, fig. 330.
File:0580.jpg|[[Lewis Miller]], "[[Mount Vernon]]", 1835.
File:1227.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Patent Office Wings, 1842, in Rhodri Windsor Liscombe, ''Altogether American: Robert Mills, Architect and Engineer, 1781-1855'' (1994), p. 232, fig. 86b.
File:1225.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], "Projection of the Fire-Proof Buildings for the Navy & War Depts.", c. 1843, in John M. Bryan, ''Robert Mills: America's First Architect'' (2001), p. 249. "Portico" is inscribed on both the north and south entrance.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0826.jpg|[[James Peller Malcolm]], The [[Woodlands]] From the Bridge at Gray's Ferry, c. 1792, in Beth C. Wees and Medill H. Harvey, ''Early American Silver in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'' (2013), p. 259.
File:0341.jpg|George Isham Parkyns, Mount Vernon, 1795.
File:0089.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "View of [[Mount Vernon]] looking towards the South", 1796.
File:0710.jpg|[[J. Weiss]], ''Home of George Washington, "The Father of His Country"'', 1797.
File:0345.jpg|Alexander Robertson (artist), Francis Jukes (engraver), "Mount Vernon in Virginia," 1800.
File:1256.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], West Elevation of the Final Version of Monticello, c. 1803.
File:0344.jpg|[[George Ropes]], ''Mount Vernon'', 1806.
File:0314.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "[[Mount Vernon]], Virginia, the [[Seat]] of the late [[George Washington|Genl. G. Washington]]", 1808.
File:0051.jpg|[[William Strickland]], "The [[Woodlands]]", 1809.
File:0838.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], ''Monte Video—near Avon'' [detail], c. 1810-1819, in Richard Saunders and Helen Raye, ''Daniel Wadsworth, Patron of the Arts. Hartford'' (1981), p. 56, pl. 16.
File:0551.jpg|John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1811-12.
File:1220.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Front elevation, South Carolina Insane Asylum, c.1820, in John M. Bryan, ed. ''Robert Mills, Architect'' (1989), pl. 7.
File:1051.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], "Monte Video, Approach to the House," in Benjamin Silliman, ''Remarks Made on a Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec, in the Autumn of 1819'' (1824), pl. opp. p. 16.
File:0079.jpg|[[Jane Braddick]], ''View of West Front of [[Monticello]] and Garden'', 1825.
File:0646.jpg|Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.
File:0549.jpg|[[Victor De Grailly]], ''View of Mount Vernon'', c.1840–50.
File:0550.jpg|[[Victor de Grailly]], ''Washington's Tomb at Mount Vernon'', c.1840-50.
File:0328.jpg|Unknown, "Front View of the Mansion at Mount Vernon", in Franklin Knight ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.14.
File:0329.jpg|Anonymous, A. Kollner (lithographer), "North West View of the Mansion of George Washington Mount Vernon," in Franklin Knight, ed., ''Letters on agriculture from His Excellency George Washington, president of the United States, to Arthur Young, Esq. F.R.S. and Sir John Sinclair, Bart., M.P with statistical tables and remarks, by Thomas Jefferson, Richard Peters, and other gentlemen, on the economy and management of farms in the United States'' (1847), opp. p.124.
File:0778.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Italian Bracketed Villa," in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 7.
File:0779.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], South Front Elevation of Italian Bracketed Villa, in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0780.jpg|[[Frances Palmer]], "Principal Elevation" of a villa in the Anglo-Italian style at Oswefo N.Y., in William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'' (1851), vol. 2, pl. 9, design 26.
File:0334.jpg|Middleton, Strobridge & Co. (engraver), "Mount Vernon, the home of Washington," c. 1861.

File:0836.jpg|[[Daniel Wadsworth]], Architectural Details: Gothic Fireplace and Portico

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0190.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], ''Charles Carroll'', c. 1770.
File:0021.jpg|Cornelius Tiebout, "A View of the present Seat of His Excel. the Vice President of the United States", 1790.
File:1229.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Garden temple elevations and floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1230.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Side elevation and basement floor plan, c.1795-1799.
File:1231.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Houses and a church. Lodge - Sections showing interior elevation, c.1795-1799.
File:0083.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], ''Sedgeley'', 1799.
File:0404.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], "Elevation of the South front of the President's house, copied from the design as proposed to be altered in 1807," January 1817.
File:0990.jpg|[[Thomas Birch]],''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819.
File:0020.jpg|Mdme. Janika de Feriet, ''The Hermitage'', c. 1820.
File:0739.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], Landsdown, pre 1834.
File:0025.jpg|Robert P. Smith, "View of Washington", 1850.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Piazza

2015-07-02T16:07:42Z

K-perkov:

(Piazer, Piazzia)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the piazza, [[veranda]], [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by <span id="Birch_cite"></span> [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the piazza, a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" ([[#Birch|view text]]) [Fig. 1]. The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed piazza, or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> <span id="Latrobe_cite">[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the piazza was known as the gallery ([[#Latrobe|view text]]). Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "piazza" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the piazza as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The piazza was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed piazzas depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "piazza" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the piazza was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the piazza projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having piazzas on all four sides. Both one- and two-story piazzas were also built. Second, "piazza" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height piazza, such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, piazzas linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The piazza's basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A piazza might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as <span id="Martineau_cite"></span>[[Harriet Martineau]] described one in 1835, "draperied with vines."([[#Martineau|view text]]) Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. <span id="Teschemacher_cite"></span> [[James E. Teschemacher]] (1835), however, described and illustrated a piazza with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es.([[#Teschemacher|view text]]) Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the piazzas had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect<span id="Ranlett1_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised piazzas for their "very expressive" purpose. ([[#Ranlett1|view text]]) They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one piazza was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the piazzas might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
<span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [piazzas]." He regarded the absence of a piazza on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.([[#Ranlett2|view text]]) <span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a piazza or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "piazza." <span id="Ranlett3_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "piazza" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett3|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and piazzas for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "piazza" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to piazza, [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." ([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.

--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

*Anonymous, June 21 1706, describing in the ''Journals of the House of Burgesses'' construction resolutions in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "Ordered That ye said Henry Cary do cause the pavements in ye '''Piazza''' to be taken up, and new Laid, and yt [sic] the well be filled up and the pavement of ye [[walk]] Leading thereby finished."

*[[Hugh Jones|Jones, Hugh]], 1722, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (1956: 66-67)<ref>Hugh Jones, ''The Present State of Virginia, From Whence Is Inferred a Short View of Maryland and North Carolina'', ed. by Richard L. Morton (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KE293JVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "At the north end runs back a large wing, which is a handsome hall . . . there is a spacious '''piazza''' on the west side, from one wing to the other. It is approached by a good [[walk]], and a grand entrance by steps, with good courts and gardens about it."

* Anonymous, 1756, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' the construction materials needed for the Capitol, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 298)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Wanted about 280 feet of purbeck and 80 feet of balne shrosberry stone for completing the '''piazzas''' of the capitol in Williamsburg."

* Anonymous, October 13, 1757, describing a property for sale in Charleston, S.C. (South Carolina Gazette) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "on a Creek fronting Charles-Town, with a neat pleasant-situated House thereon, having '''Piazzas''' South, West and North, and being about 6 Miles from Charles-Town."

* [[James Iredell|Iredell, James]], 1773, describing Edenton, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "Spoke to Mr. Jones in his ''Piazza'', walked with him in his Garden, but was not asked in to his house."

* [[William Attmore|Attmore, William]], 1787, describing New Bern, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "there are to many of the houses Balconies or '''Piazzas''' in front and sometimes back of the house, this Method of Building is found convenient on account of the great Summer Heats here."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], July 14, 1787, describing Gray's Tavern, Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 1:274)<ref name="Cutler_1987">William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "From this grass [[plat]] we went into a '''piazza''' one story high, next the street, very pleasant, as it is in full [[view]] of the river."

* Anonymous, December 24, 1799, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' a property for sale in Richmond, Va. (CWF)

: "For sale: A house on Shockoe Hill near the Capitol in Richmond. . . . Adjoining this building is a kitchen, laundry, office, coachhouse to hold two carriages, lodging rooms for domestics. This building is connected to the house by a double '''piazza'''."

* [[John Sibley|Sibley, Dr. John]], September 15, 1802, describing the [[plantation]]s along the Mississippi River, in the vicinity of New Orleans, La. (1927: 477)<ref>John Sibley, "The Journal of Dr. Sibley July-October, 1802," ''Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' 10 (1927):474-497, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GFUD923H/q/John%20Sibley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The houses all after the same fashion, one story, wood, large on the ground, a Hall & 4 chambers, '''piazzias''' on all Sides and almost all painted white."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], November 22, 1803, describing the [[Woodlands]], [[seat]] of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:144)<ref name="Cutler_1987"></ref>

: "Near the point of land a superb but ancient house built of stone is situated. In the front, which commands an extensive and most enchanting prospect, is a '''piazza''', supported on large pillars, and furnished with chairs and sofas, like an elegant room."

* <div id="Birch"></div> [[William Russell Birch|Birch, William Russell]], 1808, describing [[York Island]], Long Island, N.Y. (n.p.)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Birch_cite|back up to history]]

: "This [[view]] is taken from the '''piazza''' of the [[seat]] of General Stevens on Long Island, near that extraordinary channel called Hell-gate, on the East river, or sound. The [[view]] was taken in the morning at the rising of the sun, when a glow of light from the arch of Heaven, exhibited to the [[view]] almost innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose, like so many stars in the firmament, upon the face of this beautifully variegated Island. The scene extending [sic] across the North river to the Jersey shore." [See Fig. 1]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], March 1, 1808, describing [[Mount Vernon]], [[plantation]] of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Stein 1993:100)<ref> Susan R. Stein, ''The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SK9WTNIU/q/Stein| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "My [[greenhouse|green house]] is only a '''piazza''' adjoining my study, because I mean it for nothing more than some oranges, Mimosa Farnesiana and a very few things of that kind."

* [[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing Charleston, S.C. (1858: 130)<ref>David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'' (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie, 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A passion for flowers has of late astonishingly increased. Many families in the capital, and several in the country, for some years past have been uncommonly attentive to [[flower garden]]s. Those who cannot command convenient spots of ground have their '''piazzas''', balconies, and windows richly adorned with the beauties of nature far beyond anything that was known in the days their infancy."

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 13, 1809, Moore's Old Ordinary, Halifax, County, Va. (CWF)

: "We breakfasted this morning at a house much celebrated in Virginia, called Moore's old Ordinary. It was decidedly superior to any public house, we had yet stopt at on our Route . . . it was now morning, and many of the young people who remained where seated, or walking for their amusement in the cool shade of a long piazza, enjoying the morning breezes."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, in a letter to his son, [[Rembrandt Peale]], describing Belfield, estate of [[Charles Willson Peale]], Germantown, Pa. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:54-55)<ref>Lillian B. Miller and et al, eds.,''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: Charles Willson Peale: Artist in Revolutionary America, 1735-1791'' Vol. 1; ''Charles Willson Peale, Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810''. Vol 2, Pts. 1-2; ''The Belfield Farm Years, 1810-1820''. Vol. 3; ''The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale''. Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1983-2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a '''Piazer''' extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], Summer 1811, describing Smith's summer retreat, Sidney, near Washington, D.C. (1906: 87)<ref name="Bayard, 1906"> Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I had a table with benches round it in the front '''Piazza''', to which we removed after dinner to eat our desert [''sic'']."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Beaufort, S.C.(2:207)<ref>John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "One peculiarity, however, may be remarked respecting them, which is, that '''piazzas''' are generally attached to their southern front, as well for the convenience of walking therein during the day, as for preventing the sun's too great influence on the interior of the house."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 13, 1816, describing [[Eaglesfield]], country house of [[Robert Egglesof Griffith]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 290)<ref name="Foster_1997">Kathleen A. Foster, ''Captain Watson's Travels in America: The Sketchbooks and Diary of Joshua Rowley Watson, 1772-1818'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J6Q29IVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "You enter the house from a '''Piazza''' 25 feet long, with a [[porch]] in a half circular form, supported by [[pillar]]s, into the hall. . . . The front windows of the eating & drawing rooms reach from near the top of the room to the floor, and open out on a spacious '''Piazza''' 46 ft long and 13 ft wide supported by 6 pillars, the whole front of the house. . . . Near the house is a [[pavilion]] with a '''Piazza''' all round it, it consists of two rooms and well situated for privacy."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 17, 1816, describing [[Belmont Mansion]], estate of [[Judge William Peters]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 292-93)<ref name="Foster_1997"></ref>

: "Bellmont house is old, but is well built of stone and like all the Country houses, has a '''Piazza''' in front. I don't see why those in England should not have the same, which would secure a fine airy walk in all weathers, besides being ornamental to the building."

* <div id="Latrobe"></div>[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe|Latrobe, Mary Elizabeth]], April 18, 1820, describing the home of [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], New Orleans, La. (1951: 181)<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> [[#Latrobe_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our lot is 360 feet and 64 front, the house is up 16 steps with a '''Piazza''' (or Gallery as they call them here) the whole length of the house front and back, there is no entry or passage like our Baltimore houses."

*[[John Fanning Watson|Watson, John Fanning]], 1822-23, describing Cape May, N.J. (1857: 2:541)<ref name="Watson_1857">John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Among our few amusements—we swing—gather curious shells and pebbles upon the strand—walk the '''piazza''', and converse.

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98) <ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a [[verandah]] or '''piazza''', from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."
[[File:1771.jpg|thumb|Fig. 20, Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.]]

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1828, describing Cincinnati, Ohio (1832: 1:147)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd edn, 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Our cottage had an ample '''piazza''', (a luxury almost universal in the country houses of America), which, shaded by a group of acacias, made a delightful sitting-room."

[[File:1022.jpg|thumb|Fig. 21, Charles Alexandre Lesueur, "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.]]
* [[Sophie Madeleine Du Pont|Du Pont, Sophie Madeleine]], August 9, 1829, describing [[Eleutherian Mills]], estate of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, near Wilmington, Del. (quoted in Low and Hinsley 1987: 93)<ref>Betty-Bright Low and Jacqueline Hinsley, ''Sophie du Pont, A Young Lady in America: Sketches, Diaries, & Letters, 1823-1833'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U2EJBX3K/q/Hinsley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Our new deer, Fanny, is very annoying—She is constantly on the '''piazza''', and seizes every opportunity of rushing into the house, and what is worse, is so tame that there is no frightening her away—Azor encouraged by her example, is almost always on the '''piazza''', and if any thing is left on the entry windows, they seize & devour it—if not, they knock it down." [Fig. 20]

* [[Thomas Say|Say, Thomas]], October 19, 1830, describing his residence in New Harmony, Ind. (Stroud 1992: 227)<ref> Patricia Tyson Stroud, ''Thomas Say: New World Naturalist'', (Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSIE7JGM/q/Stroud| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "In summer, hummingbirds, sometimes three or four at a time, visited the honeysuckle that 'clustered' over his ''''piazza'''.'" [Fig. 21]

* [[James Thacher|Thacher, James]], December 3, 1830, "An Excursion on the Hudson," describing [[Hyde Park]], [[seat]] of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (''New England Farmer'' 9: 156)

: "The mansion house at [[Hyde Park]] is elevated about 200 feet above the surface of the river. With its two wings it presents a noble front of 136 feet, and is two stories above the basement. The centre or principal building, has a '''piazza''' on both fronts; the west front is open to the Hudson, and the east looks over a spacious, beautiful [[lawn]] towards the turnpike from New York to Albany."

* [[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], June 19, 1832, describing Jacksonville, Ill. (1975: 346-47) <ref>William Cullen Bryant, ''The Letters of William Cullen Bryant'' vol. 1, ed. by William Cullen II Bryant and Thomas G. Voss (New York: Fordham University Press, 1975), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3X5XUJ6A view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The dwelling was of the most wretched description. It consisted of but one room about half of which was taken up with beds and cribs. . . . In an enormous fireplace blazed a huge fire . . . the hostess and her daughter were busy in cooking a supper for several travellers who were sitting under a kind of '''piazza''' in front of the house or standing in the [[yard]]. . . . About eleven preparations were made for repose. . . . The floor of the '''piazza''' was also occupied with men wrapped in their blankets."

* [[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81, 231, 243)<ref>Joseph Holt Ingraham, ''The South-west'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1835), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DTFA8CCM view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The house was quadrangular, with a high steep [[Dutch style|Dutch]] roof, immensely large and two stories in height. . . . [It was] built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed [[veranda]]s, supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the '''piazza''' was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side. . . .
<p></p>
: "Around the semi-circular flight of steps, ascending to the '''piazza''' of the dwelling,—the [[column]]s of which were festooned with the golden jasmine and luxuriant multiflora,—stood, in large green vases, a variety of flowers . . . breathing gales of fragrance upon the air. From this point the main [[avenue]] branches to the right and left, into narrower, yet not less beautiful [[walk]]s, which, lined with evergreen and flowering shrubs, completely encircled the cottage. . . .
<p></p>
: "Passing from this [[plantation]] scene through the airy [[hall]] of the dwelling, which opened from '''piazza''' to '''piazza''' through the house, to the front gallery, whose light [[column]]s were wreathed with the delicately leaved Cape-jasmine, rambling woodbine and honeysuckle, a lovelier and more agreeable scene met my eye. I stood almost embowered in the foliage of exotics and native plants, which stood upon the gallery in handsome vases of marble and China-ware. The main [[avenue]] opened a [[vista]] to the river through a paradise of althea, orange, lemon, and olive trees, and [[grove]]s and [[lawn]]s extended on both sides of this lovely spot, 'Where Flora's brightest broidery shone,' terminating at the villas of adjoining [[plantations]]."

* <div id="Martineau"></div>[[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing Jamaica Pond, vicinity of Boston, Mass. (1838: 2:182-83)<ref name="Martineau_1838">Harriet Martineau, ''Retrospect of Western Travel'', 2 vols. (London: Saunders and Otley, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/H2BW5FRU view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Martineau_cite|back up to history]]

: "A cottage on Jamaica Pond, for instance, within an easy ride of Boston, is a luxurious summer abode. I know of one unequalled in its attractions, with its [[flower garden|flower-garden]], its [[lawn]], with banks shelving down to the mere; banks dark with rustling pines, from under whose shade the bright track of the moon may be seen, lying cool on the rippling waters. A boat is moored in the cove at hand. The cottage itself is built for coolness, and its broad '''piazza''' is draperied with vines, which keep out the sun from the shaded parlours."

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1838: 1:200)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "After the service we walked to the University, at the distance, I think, of a little more than a mile from the town. The singular ranges of college buildings are visible from a considerable distance, as they advantageously crown an eminence, presenting the appearance of a '''piazza''' surrounding an oblong [[square]], with the professors' houses rising at regular intervals. We found that the low buildings connecting these larger dwellings were the dormitories of the students; ground-floor apartments opening into the '''piazza''', and designed to serve as places of study as well as sleep." [See Fig. 7]

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing life in the southern United States (1838: 1:219)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "You are then invited to see the house, learning by the way the extent and value of the estate you are visiting, and of the 'force' upon it. You admire the lofty, cool rooms, with their green blinds, and the width of the '''piazzas''' on both sides [of] the house, built to compensate for the want of shade from trees, which cannot be allowed near the dwelling for fear of moschetoes [''sic'']."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1839, "Notices of Gardens and Horticulture, in Salem, Mass," describing [[Elfin Glen]], residence of P. Dodge, Salem, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 5: 404)

: "The cottage stands near the road, and is entered from the west front; on the south end is a '''piazza'''; the drawing-room opens into this, and thence into the garden to an open space, answering somewhat the purpose of a [[terrace]], neatly gravelled."

* Franklin Fire Insurance Company, December 20, 1839, describing [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 57)<ref name="Greiff_1979">Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect, 1810-1865'' (Philadelphia: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z view on Zotero.].</ref>

: "A two Story Stone Building With An [[Arch]] Way for an Entrance to [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] from the Ridge Road.
<p></p>
: "Dimensions: The Whole front including the [[Arch]] is 68 feet; to wit, in the Centre is the [[Arch]] 12 feet Span, On each Side of the [[Arch]] Way is an [[Arch]] '''Piazza'''. Across the building 9 feet wide, the remaining 19 feet on each side of said arches is divided into lodge rooms, 2 each Story at each Side: the Width of Building 26 1/2 feet with a '''Piazza''' on each Side Whole length of the Building; The '''Piazza''' in front next to the Road is 10 feet Wide the One next to the Cemetery is 8 feet wide. The front '''Piazza''' has 4 round frame [[Pillar]]s in front on each side of the [[Arch]]. . . . The floors to all the '''Piazzas''' are faced Sand Stone; The '''Piazza''' under the building on each side of the Entrance has 4 round [[Pillar]]s . . . the [[Arch]]es over the '''Piazzas''' along side of Entrance made in the same way & having block Cornices. There is a cast iron & a wooden laticed Gate to Entrance & a double panel door in front to each '''Piazza''' by the side of the large [[Arch]], plain jambs painted & sanded: there is a similar door way at the other end of said '''Piazzas''' (but no doors hung) with panel jambs . . . from each '''Piazza''' by the Side of the [[Arch]] there is an entrance Door Midway to the lodge rooms 1st Story which leads directly to a Straight Boxed Stairway to 2nd Story."

* [[John Warner Barber|Barber, John Warner]], and [[Henry Howe]], 1841, describing Jefferson Barracks, Sacketts Harbour, N.Y. (p. 211)<ref>John Warner Barber and Henry Howe, ''Historical Collections of the State of New York; Containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state,'' (New York: S. Tuttle, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IUJRUUA5/q/Barber| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The two long ranges of buildings in the distance, facing the spectator, are the officers' quarters. The buildings at each end are the soldiers' barracks. These structures are of limestone ... with neat '''piazzas''' in front, forming three sides of a [[square]], on which is the parade ground."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1841, "Notes made during a Visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c.," describing the residence of James Dundas, Philadelphia, Pa. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 7: 420)

: "The [[conservatory]] as well as the drawing- room, opens into a '''piazza'''."

*[[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "One of these [ranges of chambers] is called "Bachelor's Room", as it consists only of single rooms, not more than twelve feet square, with a door letting in immediately from the public '''piazza''', up and down which everybody walks, so that the door cannot be opened without the whole interior of the room being exposed. Each of these has two windows, less than two feet square, one opening into the '''piazza''', and the other against the rock of the hill beyond."

*[[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], March 6, 1843, describing Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Clarke 1993: 2:150)<ref name="Clarke_1993">Graham Clarke, ed., ''The American Landscape: Literary Sources and Documents'', 3 vols. (East Sussex, England: Helm Information, 1993), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TRGJ9W95 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The city of Charleston strikes the visitor from the North most agreeably. He perceives at once that he is in a different climate. The spacious houses are surrounded with broad '''piazzas''', often a '''piazza''' to each story, for the sake of shade and coolness, and each house generally stands by itself in a garden planted with trees and shrubs, many of which preserve their verdure through the winter."

* [[Charles Evans|Evans, Charles]], 1846, describing [[Friends Asylum for the Insane]], near Frankford, Pa. (p. 10) <ref> Charles Evans, ''An Account of the Asylum'', (Philadelphia: Joseph Rakestraw, 1846), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CKN72CQS/q/Charles%20Evans| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "At the termination of a gravel [[walk]] leading directly from the house through these two gardens, at the distance of about three hundred feet, is an ornamental house, surrounded on all sides by a '''piazza''', fitted up as a library and reading room, and containing numerous specimens of natural history, maps, drawings, &c., &c., affording a most agreeable resort for such patients as may be considered by the physician well enough to enjoy it."

*[[John Notman|Notman, John]], December 26, 1846, describing his designs for the [[Smithsonian Institution]], Washington, D.C. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 117)<ref name="Greiff_1979"></ref>

: "No. I, is the ground plan. . . . On both sides or fronts of the building where strong direct light is neither desirable nor necessary, piazzas are made within the line of [[wall]]s, forming four sheltered ambulatories or cloisters, each 90 feet long by 10 feet wide; they are also passages from one point to another. . . .
<p></p>
: "The halls, corridors, '''piazza''', and [[porch]]es, [are] to be paved." [See Fig. 4]

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant [[''Portico'']] on its northern [front], and a '''''Piaza''''' [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* [[Rev. C. C. Jones|Jones, Rev. C. C.]], June 5, 1851, in a letter to his wife, Mary Jones, describing [[Hermitage]], estate of [[Andrew Jackson]], Nashville, Tenn. ([1851] 1976: 175)<ref>C. C. Jones, ''A Georgian at Princeton'', ed. by Robert Manson Myers (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, [1851] 1976) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7X6BDD92 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The carriage drew up at the '''piazza''', resembling the [[Mount Vernon]] '''piazza''', paved with limestone flags, and with the fluted [[column]]s running to the cornice above the second story."

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">Ephraim Chambers, ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PIAZZA''', in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a [[portico]], or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See [[PORTICO]].
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or [[square]]; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or [[portico]]'s around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "[[PORTICO]], in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See '''PIAZZA'''."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31)<ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "PORTICO.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with [[arch]]es, in the manner of a gallery. The [[portico]] is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The [[''portico'']] is a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner."

* [[William Prince|Prince, William]], 1828, ''A Short Treatise on Horticulture'' (pp. 145-46)

: "''Sweetbriar, or Eglantine''.—This delightful species of the rose family is well calculated to train against the sides of houses, or up the [[pillar]]s of the '''piazza''', or to intermingle with the vines which entwine bowers, &c."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PIAZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;'' Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered walk supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. Encyc."

[[File:0938.jpg|thumb|Fig. 22, James E. Teschemacher, "A green-house constructed at the centre of a cottage", May 1, 1835.]]
* <div id="Teschemacher"></div>[[James E. Teschemacher|Teschemacher, James E.]], May 1. 1835, "On Horticultural Architecture" (''Horticultural Register'' 1: 159)[[#Teschemacher_cite|back up to history]]

: "The '''piazzas''' of many houses are formed by a continuation of the roof supported by thick [[pillar]]s, which give them a heavy appearance; those in the drawing are intended to represent '''piazzas''', with concave roofs formed of painted floor cloth, fastened on slight wooden rafters, cut with curve desired, then supported by slender [[pillar]]s connected by wooden [[arch]]es with open work; such pillars may be quickly encircled by hardy climbing plants." [Fig. 22]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 824)<ref name="Webster_1848">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'' (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PI-AZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;''; Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "1. In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered [[walk]] supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. ''P. Cyc''.
<p></p>
: "2. In ''Italian'', it denotes a square open space surrounded by buildings. ''Gwilt.''"

[[File:0779.jpg|thumb|Fig. 23, Frances Palmer, "South Front Elevation" of Italian Bracketed Villa at Oswego N.Y., 1851.]]
* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 14, 16-17, 32, 38, 39)<ref name="Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "ROOFS, CORNICE, &c. . . . The first section of main roof to be covered with first quality 3 feet cedar shingles, laid three thick on hard-wood lath; the roofs of the top section, the two wings, the '''piazza''', [[portico]]s, bay and oriel windows, covered with tongued and grooved plank, and overlaid with 'Naylor's patent tinned iron plates,' with ridge joints. . . . principal [[portico]] and '''piazza''' roofs to be supported by eight round fluted Corinthian [[column]]s, with carved caps and turned bases . . . the ceiling of the [[portico]] and '''piazza''', of narrow, clear boards; the filling below the several floors of '''piazza''', gallery and [[veranda]] to be open work.
<p></p>
: "On the south is a flat-roofed '''piazza''', with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s. . . . [Fig. 23]
<p></p>
: "the absence of a '''piazza''', the lack of all ornamentation, of vines and [[shrubbery]] [of a house recently erected in the suburbs of N.Y.], bespeak a degree of ignorance of the means of enjoyment, of niggardliness and contracted views, that ere long will be looked upon with incredulity."

* <div id="Ranlett1"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name="Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett1_cite|back up to history]]

: "[[Veranda]]s, '''piazzas''' and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the [[veranda]], or ''piazza''. In a cool climate, like that of England, the [[veranda]] is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a [[veranda]] is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without [[verandas]]. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the [[veranda]] should find its place; or, if not an architectural [[veranda]], then, at least, the [[arbor]]-[[veranda]], covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no [[veranda]]-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* <div id="Ranlett3"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett3_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a '''piazza'''; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a [[veranda]]. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking '''piazzas''' on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1732.jpg|[[Batty Langley]] and [[Thomas Langley]], ''Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's'' [''sic''], in ''Gothic Architecture, Improved by Rules and Proportions in many Ground Designs'' (1747), pl. 29.
File:0461.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of Bath (Berkeley Springs), Va., 1787. Plan lists "bb" as "two Piazzas with [[seat]]s".
File:0069.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]], 1787. See Detail.
File:0069_Detail3.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]] [detail], 1787. "Piazza 18 feet high" is inscribed at the top of the detail.
File:1219.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Joseph Hand Villa, 1807. "Piazza" is inscribed on the principal story.
File:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.
File:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.
File:0720.jpg|[[Charles Bulfinch]], "Joseph Barrell House remodeled as McLean Hospital", 1817. "Covered piazza" is inscribed on either side of the upper [[terrace]].
File:0597.jpg|William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826.
File:1254.jpg|[[John Notman]], "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846. "Piazza" is inscribed near the front of of the building on either side of the "Hall of Entrance" and at the back of the building on either side of the "Principal Stair".

</gallery>

=== Associated===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1771.jpg|Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.
File:0505.jpg|Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826.
File:1022.jpg|[[Charles Alexandre Lesueur]], "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.
File:0320.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808, in William Russell Birch and Emily Cooperman, ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 75, pl. 17.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0272.jpg|[[Ralph Earl]], ''Captain Elijah Dewey'', 1798.
File:0233.jpg|[[Charles Fraser]], ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, Seat of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Piazza

2015-07-02T15:51:35Z

K-perkov:

(Piazer, Piazzia)

==History==
[[File:0320.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 1, [[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808.]]
Several words were used synonymously to describe covered walks or spaces supported by [[column]]s or piers and attached to, or to part of, a building. This architectural feature spoke to the interrelatedness of architecture and gardens, a relationship that grew out of the romantic interest in landscape characterizing the aesthetics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[[File:0916.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, Anonymous, "Bracketed Veranda from the inside", 1850.]]
Two images exemplify the importance of the piazza, [[veranda]], [[porch]], and [[portico]] in creating and framing views of the garden and landscape. The first is a drawing of [[York Island]], Long Island, by <span id="Birch_cite"></span> [[William Russell Birch]] (1808), who explained that the [[view]] was taken from the piazza, a place from which one could see "innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose" ([[#Birch|view text]]) [Fig. 1]. The second is from [[A. J. Downing]]'s book on wooden [[picturesque]] houses, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' (1850) [Fig. 2]. Both illustrated views from the bracketed piazza, or [[veranda]], as [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] preferred to call it, out to the distant [[prospect]].

Various treatises used all of these terms interchangeably in their definitions. [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] also used the term 'umbrage' to refer to the same feature on a house, implying a place of shade.<ref> William Pierson, Jr., traces the origins of the feature, specifically found in [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|A. J. Downing]]'s work, to the awning or canopy partaking of an oriental flavor. In general, its origin was a semi-enclosed outdoor space that was not at all architectural but was related to the ornamental canopy or tent. This connection might explain why the detail flourished during the high romantic period in American architecture. See Pierson, ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'', vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 300-304, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J8FITVZG/q/Pierson| view on Zotero.]</ref> <span id="Latrobe_cite">[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe]] mentioned that in New Orleans the piazza was known as the gallery([[#Latrobe|view text]]). Contrasting usage of these words sometimes could offer distinctions. Rev. Manasseh Cutler, for example, in his description of [[Monticello]], said that the term "[[portico]]" refers to smaller entrance porches and the term "piazza" to extended covered walkways stretching perpendicularly from the [[portico]]s. For the purposes of this essay, each of the four key terms will be described in turn, highlighting any specific meanings that have been attributed to them.
[[File:1732.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's", 1747.]]
In 1828, [[Frances Milton Trollope]], the acerbic critic of American art and architecture, described the piazza as a "luxury almost universal in the country houses of America." Indeed it was a feature found throughout the colonies and dates from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. From Massachusetts to the lower Mississippi Valley, examples are found on both private and public buildings. The feature was adapted to various styles with appropriate detailing and ornamentation. The piazza was a projecting [[porch]] or connecting passage that was identifiable in neoclassical [[plantation]] houses in the South, as well as in the Gothic revival suburban cottages of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were countless variations ranging from the simple wooden post-and-lintel type, to stone-[[arch]]ed piazzas depicted by [[Batty Langley]] [Fig. 3] and mentioned in 1839 at [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] in Philadelphia.
[[File:0549.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 4, Victor de Grailly, ''View of Mount Vernon'', c. 1840-50.]]
[[File:0597.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
In texts and images related to American gardens of the period under study, although several imported treatises traced "piazza" back to covered walkways that surrounded the [[square]], the term has not been associated with the Italian term for a medieval or renaissance [[square]]. It was generally described as two related but somewhat distinctive appendages to buildings. First, the piazza was attached [[porch]]-like to a façade so that three sides of the piazza projected out from the building [Fig. 4], or the sides were recessed into the structure, as on the main façade of the U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia [Fig. 5]. At other times it appeared on more than one façade [Fig. 6]. In New Orleans one house was described as having piazzas on all four sides. Both one- and two-story piazzas were also built. Second, "piazza" also referred to a covered walkway embedded between two buildings and acting as a connecting link. A single- or even double-height piazza, such as that described in 1799 on a property in Richmond, Va., provided either an entrance or transition space from interior architecture to exterior space. In the case of the University of Virginia, piazzas linked the entire range of houses around the lawn, and they served as transitional spaces leading to the lawn [Fig. 7].
[[File:0233.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 6, Charles Fraser, ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, [[Seat]] of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.]]
[[File:0505.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826. Seven piazzas are marked on all the façades]]
The piazza's basic structure consisted of a roof supported by pillars or [[column]]s. A piazza might be walled on each side with Venetian blinds or, as <span id="Martineau_cite"></span>[[Harriet Martineau]] described one in 1835, "draperied with vines."([[#Martineau|view text]]) Flooring was stone, flag, wooden planks, or gravel. The roof was generally either flat or peaked. <span id="Teschemacher_cite"></span> [[James E. Teschemacher]] (1835), however, described and illustrated a piazza with a concave roof formed of painted floor cloth fastened on wooden rafters, which were supported by wooden [[arch]]es.([[#Teschemacher|view text]]) Several images depict the piazza at ground level opening directly out into the landscape. Some examples, however, describe broad and spacious flights of stairs leading from the piazza and 'descending into the garden.' At [[Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson's]] [[Monticello]] (Charlottesville) and [[Poplar Forest]] (Bedford County, Va.), the piazzas had no immediate access to the ground but instead were raised, balcony-like structures overlooking the garden. Even if not a physical link, the visual connection to the exterior remained critical to the function of this feature.

The nineteenth-century architect<span id="Ranlett1_cite"></span> William H. Ranlett, who used them often in his residential design, praised piazzas for their "very expressive" purpose. ([[#Ranlett1|view text]]) They functioned as sitting areas that were furnished with couches, chairs, and sometimes tables where one could take a meal. They were used to provide a place for walking or sitting and enjoying the breeze, shade and coolness; they also served to keep the sun from warming the interior of the house. Since the feature was designed to provide [[view]]s in addition to protection from the sun, orientation of the piazza had to be planned with regard to the sun and surrounding environment. At [[Hyde Park]], a visitor in 1830 mentioned that one piazza was open to the Hudson River and the other looked over a beautiful [[lawn]], suggesting that the [[view]] dictated where the piazzas might be located.
[[File:0350.jpg|thumb|Fig. 8, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in the Grounds at Blithewood", 1849.]]
<span id="Ranlett2_cite"></span> Ranlett was emphatic when he decreed that a "dwelling should always have one or more of them [piazzas]." He regarded the absence of a piazza on a new house an indication of ignorance, niggardliness, and narrow- minded views.([[#Ranlett2|view text]]) <span id="Downing1 _cite"></span> Downing (1850) went so far as to proclaim the lack of a piazza or [[veranda]] in any but the most utilitarian structure as "unphilosophical and false in taste!" He claimed that it was a resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort of the whole family across nearly the entire extent of the United States ([[#Downing1|view text]]) [Fig. 8].

Appearing only in the mid-nineteenth century in treatise literature with any frequency, the term "[[veranda]]" (also spelled [[veranda|verandah]]) was used in 1748 in Pehr Kalm's ''Travels in North America'', in which he described small balconies or [[porch]]es on houses.<ref>Kalm, ''The America of 1750: Peter Kalm's Travels in North America'', trans. and rev. Adolph B. Benson (New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1937), 121. In his study of the veranda, Anthony D. King wrote, "It is generally accepted that the term '[[veranda|verandah]],' as used in England and France, and later in the British colonial world, came into the English landscape from India, the origins being either Persian, or, more likely Spanish or Portuguese." See King, ''The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture'', 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 266.</ref> Many visual and textual examples indicate that [[veranda]] served as an intermediary space between a house and its garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] described it as an overhanging or low roof supported by an open colonnade or framework. He recommended that it have a gravel or wooden surface rising six to eight inches above the surrounding ground. Climbing plants often covered [[veranda]]s. Some writers refer to arbor-[[veranda]]s and also mention the latticework that provided screening and support for climbing plants. Ornamental brackets and bargeboards also added to the decorations of the [[veranda]].

The term was, as mentioned, often used interchangeably with "[[porch]]," "[[portico]]," and "piazza." <span id="Ranlett3_cite"></span> Ranlett sometimes distinguished between the two, using "piazza" for a projecting roof and "[[veranda]]" for an overhanging roof ([[#Ranlett3|view text]]). [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] used the term "[[porch]]" to identify that part of the [[veranda]] where steps led from the ground to the entryway. He also used the term [["pavilion"]] synonymously with "[[veranda]]".

[[A. J. Downing|Downing]] (1850) expounded at length on the meaning of the [[veranda]], which he saw as a truly American feature not found in European architecture.<ref> This, of course, was not true because the veranda was featured in both John Plaw, ''Sketches for Country Houses, Villas and Rural Dwellings'' (London: S. Gosnell for J. Taylor, 1800), and J. B. Papworth, ''Penny Cyclopaedia'' (London: J. Taylor, 1818), as pointed out by King, ''The Bungalow'', 266-67. </ref> Always concerned with identifying a national style, he believed that the [[veranda]], in addition to providing shade and transitional zone from house to garden, was not simply ornamental but useful and "connected with the life of the owner of the cottage." Its presence expressed the ownership of a family exhibiting rural taste and a love of [[picturesque|[picturesque]]] character, a family "at home in the country."
[[File:0955.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 9, [[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View N.W. at Blithewood", c. 1841.]]
Although the [[veranda]] was an architectural feature found in the colonial and early national periods, it became a key component of asymmetrical [[picturesque]] design for both landscape and architecture in the 1840s.<ref>Vincent J. Scully, ''The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright'' (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971), introduction.</ref> Many illustrations for house pattern books by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] and his followers depicted plans and elevations in various romantic styles that feature the [[veranda]] as an element in a new spatial organization that experimented with the interweaving of interior and exterior space. In his ''Treatise'' (1849) [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] wrote, "architectural beauty must be considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or situation," and "if properly designed and constructed . . . will even serve to impress a character on the surrounding landscape."<ref> [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), 370. </ref> That the frontispiece to his ''Treatise'' illustrated the veranda at [[Blithewood]] underscores the importance of this theoretical stance. Another drawing of [[Blithewood]] [Fig. 9] by [[Alexander Jackson Davis]] presented, from the house and through the semi-enclosed space of the [[veranda]], the view of the landscape toward the river, exemplifying the interpenetration of space that became for [[Alexander Jackson Davis|Davis]] and [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] an important characteristic of their architecture. Architectural historians have written about the [[veranda]] as a major component in [[picturesque]] architecture and a mark of distinction between American and English houses of the Gothic revival.<ref> William H. Pierson, Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, the Corporate and the Early Gothic Styles'' (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 302-4. See also King, ''The Bungalow'', 267, where the author writes that "[a]n architectural note of the term, [[veranda|verandah]]," emphasized that "it was common as a fashionable architectural feature in England during the early nineteenth century," and does not recognize an American distinctiveness.</ref>
[[File:0322.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 10, [[William Russell Birch]], "China Retreat Pennsyla the Seat of Mr Manigault", 1808.]]
[[File:0182.jpg|thumb|Fig. 11, Caroline Elizabeth Burgwin Clitherall, attr., ''The Hermitage'', c. 1805.]]
The term "[[porch]]," as the 1828 dictionary entry by [[Noah Webster]] indicates, refers to a roofed architectural element often supported by [[column]]s or piers, either attached to a building or existing as an independent garden structure. During the colonial and early Republic periods three kinds of porches were evident throughout America. First, the [[porch]] was either an open or enclosed projecting roofed area of a building that sheltered a doorway or entrance [Fig. 10]. Since most gardens were situated next to the house, a [[porch]] was often a point of access from the house to the ornamental grounds. Eliza Caroline Burgwin Clitherall (active 1801) depicted such a porch at the Hermitage in Wilmington, N.C. [Fig. 11].
[[File:0358.jpg|thumb|Fig. 12, Anonymous, Rustic [[Seat]] at Montgomery Place, 1847.]]
[[File:1768.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 13, Anonymous, "Principal Floor" of a Symmetrical Stone Farm House, 1850.]]
The second meaning of the term referred to a covered sitting and viewing area that was either attached to the building or was free-standing. In describing the use of [[porch]]es as "decorative marks to the entrances of scenes" (akin to those of a theater proscenium), [[J. C. Loudon]] was referring to their use as embellished shelters over benches or seats placed in the garden. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] description of the rustic [[porch]] at [[Montgomery Place]], on the Hudson River in Dutchess County, N.Y., argues that in addition to punctuating or shaping garden scenery, as [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon]] recommended, [[porch]]es, if appropriately placed and decorated, offered a way to situate a [[seat]] in the landscape thereby directing a [[view]] or [[prospect]] [Fig. 12]. Its function also allowed those seated to observe the landscape in all kinds of weather, as described in 1749 by Pehr Kalm. [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] [[porch]]es make clear the function of the [[porch]] as a mediator between interior and exterior realms. He praised [[porch]]es that were covered with vegetation for easing the transition from outside to inside, and for providing evidence of the cultivated domesticity within the home [Fig. 13].
[[File:1254.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 14, John Notam, "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846.]]
[[File:0551.jpg|thumb|Fig. 15, John Lewis Krimmel, ''Fourth of July in Centre Square'', 1812.]]
The third kind of [[porch]] is described by [[A. J. Downing|Downing]] as the carriage [[porch]], or ''porte cochère'', where in a grand home the arriving guests drew up under an architectural canopy for shelter. [[John Notman]] similarly inscribed the term ''porte cochère'' on his unexecuted design for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. [Fig. 14]. He includes porches for the side entrances and piazzas for galleries running along the façades.

The term "[[portico]]" was also used when referring to a covered space that was supported by [[column]]s or piers and was attached to a building. Semantic distinctions were made, however, using "portico" to identify the principal entrances to the house and "piazza" for the extended side [[porch]]es. The higher status of the [[portico]], as opposed to piazza, [[veranda]], or [[porch]], was emphasized by its frequent modification by adjectives such as "handsome," "noble," and "elegant" [Fig. 15]. The word "[[portico]]" seems not to have been used to refer to covered walkways that linked separate buildings, as is made clear in the distinction in 1777 regarding the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
[[File:0646.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 16, Anonymous, ''[[Montpelier]]'', 1835.]]
Margaret Bayard Smith in 1828 said the [[portico]] at President [[James Madison|James Madison's]] plantation, [[Montpelier]], commanded a [[view]], "a beautiful scene," of extensive [[lawn]]s and forests, where viewers walked through the [[portico]] until twilight when the landscape was no longer visible [Fig. 16]. <span id="Mason_cite"></span>[[John Mason]] recalled the [[portico]] at George Mason's Gunston Hall, near Mason Neck, Va., from which "you descended directly into an extensive garden." ([[#Mason|view text]]) [[A. J. Downing|Downing's]] 1849 comments conveyed a similar meaning, suggesting that the [[portico]] served to connect the building, visually and also physically, "by gradual transition with the ground about it."
[[File:0580.jpg|thumb|Fig. 17, Lewis Miller, "[[Mount Vernon]]" [detail], c. 1835. Miller noted on his drawing that "A lofty [[portico]] ... has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water."]]
The [[portico]] served as a focal, as well as a viewing, point. [[Lewis Miller]], for example, in 1849 wrote that at [[Mount Vernon]] the "lofty [[portico]] . . . has a pleasing effect when viewed from the water" [Fig. 17]. Often the [[portico]] was distinguished from the building it ornamented by its material, creating a distant focus for the spectator from the garden or surrounding landscape. A brick building was sometimes ornamented with a contrasting white stone or painted wood [[portico]]. As [[David Bailie Warden]] noted in 1816, such a feature made a house "admirably adapted to the American climate."
[[File:1735.jpg|thumb|left|Fig. 18, [[Batty Langley|Batty]] and [[Thomas Langley]], "Gothick [sic] Portico", 1747.]]
[[File:0990.jpg|thumb|Fig. 19, [[Thomas Birch]], ''Southeast View of Sedgeley Park'', c. 1819]]
[[Portico]]s generally were dressed in a classical style, meaning that classical [[column]]s supported the low-pitched roof and the front was finished with an entablature and pediment. Many descriptions specified Doric (e.g., [[Centre Square]] in Philadelphia), Tuscan (e.g., the [[Woodlands]] near Philadelphia), or Corinthian (e.g., Ranlett's design for a house in Italian bracketed style). Two notable exceptions to the classical style, however, are well known. William Buckland's fanciful octagonal porch at [[Gunston Hall]] (1755-58) had ogee [[arch]]es and is thought to have been inspired by the writings of [[Batty Langley]], who promoted Gothic and chinoiserie details for architectural decoration [Fig. 18]. [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Benjamin Henry Latrobe's]] Gothic design for [[Sedgeley]], near Philadelphia (1799) [Fig. 19], which is considered one of the earliest Gothic revival houses in America, had tall slender posts supporting the roof.

Thus, two points are important in the history of these terms: First, these architectural elements served to elide the boundaries of the garden and building by linking interior and exterior space both visually and physically. Second, the associative values of refinement and domesticity, and even national progress, were read into the forms.
--''Therese O'Malley''

==Texts==

===Usage===

*Anonymous, June 21 1706, describing in the ''Journals of the House of Burgesses'' construction resolutions in Williamsburg, Va. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "Ordered That ye said Henry Cary do cause the pavements in ye '''Piazza''' to be taken up, and new Laid, and yt [sic] the well be filled up and the pavement of ye [[walk]] Leading thereby finished."

*[[Hugh Jones|Jones, Hugh]], 1722, describing the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va. (1956: 66-67)<ref>Hugh Jones, ''The Present State of Virginia, From Whence Is Inferred a Short View of Maryland and North Carolina'', ed. by Richard L. Morton (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KE293JVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "At the north end runs back a large wing, which is a handsome hall . . . there is a spacious '''piazza''' on the west side, from one wing to the other. It is approached by a good [[walk]], and a grand entrance by steps, with good courts and gardens about it."

* Anonymous, 1756, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' the construction materials needed for the Capitol, Williamsburg, Va. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 298)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994">Carl R. Lounsbury, ed., ''An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/UK5TCUQQ/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Wanted about 280 feet of purbeck and 80 feet of balne shrosberry stone for completing the '''piazzas''' of the capitol in Williamsburg."

* Anonymous, October 13, 1757, describing a property for sale in Charleston, S.C. (South Carolina Gazette) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "on a Creek fronting Charles-Town, with a neat pleasant-situated House thereon, having '''Piazzas''' South, West and North, and being about 6 Miles from Charles-Town."

* [[James Iredell|Iredell, James]], 1773, describing Edenton, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269) <ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "Spoke to Mr. Jones in his ''Piazza'', walked with him in his Garden, but was not asked in to his house."

* [[William Attmore|Attmore, William]], 1787, describing New Bern, N.C. (quoted in Lounsbury 1994: 269)<ref name="Lounsbury_1994"></ref>

: "there are to many of the houses Balconies or '''Piazzas''' in front and sometimes back of the house, this Method of Building is found convenient on account of the great Summer Heats here."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], July 14, 1787, describing Gray's Tavern, Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 1:274)<ref name="Cutler_1987">William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/ view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "From this grass [[plat]] we went into a '''piazza''' one story high, next the street, very pleasant, as it is in full [[view]] of the river."

* Anonymous, December 24, 1799, describing in the ''Virginia Gazette'' a property for sale in Richmond, Va. (CWF)

: "For sale: A house on Shockoe Hill near the Capitol in Richmond. . . . Adjoining this building is a kitchen, laundry, office, coachhouse to hold two carriages, lodging rooms for domestics. This building is connected to the house by a double '''piazza'''."

* [[John Sibley|Sibley, Dr. John]], September 15, 1802, describing the [[plantation]]s along the Mississippi River, in the vicinity of New Orleans, La. (1927: 477)<ref>John Sibley, "The Journal of Dr. Sibley July-October, 1802," ''Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' 10 (1927):474-497, [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GFUD923H/q/John%20Sibley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The houses all after the same fashion, one story, wood, large on the ground, a Hall & 4 chambers, '''piazzias''' on all Sides and almost all painted white."

* [[Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], November 22, 1803, describing the [[Woodlands]], [[seat]] of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:144)<ref name="Cutler_1987"></ref>

: "Near the point of land a superb but ancient house built of stone is situated. In the front, which commands an extensive and most enchanting prospect, is a '''piazza''', supported on large pillars, and furnished with chairs and sofas, like an elegant room."

* <div id="Birch"></div> [[William Russell Birch|Birch, William Russell]], 1808, describing [[York Island]], Long Island, N.Y. (n.p.)<ref>William Russell Birch, ''The Country Seats of the United States of North America: With Some Scenes Connected with Them'' (Springland, Pa.: W. Birch, 1808), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/BAIMV4GZ view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Birch_cite|back up to history]]

: "This [[view]] is taken from the '''piazza''' of the [[seat]] of General Stevens on Long Island, near that extraordinary channel called Hell-gate, on the East river, or sound. The [[view]] was taken in the morning at the rising of the sun, when a glow of light from the arch of Heaven, exhibited to the [[view]] almost innumerable [[seat]]s, spreading over an extensive country which glittered as the sun arose, like so many stars in the firmament, upon the face of this beautifully variegated Island. The scene extending [sic] across the North river to the Jersey shore." [See Fig. 1]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], March 1, 1808, describing [[Mount Vernon]], [[plantation]] of [[George Washington]], Fairfax County, Va. (quoted in Stein 1993:100)<ref> Susan R. Stein, ''The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SK9WTNIU/q/Stein| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "My [[greenhouse|green house]] is only a '''piazza''' adjoining my study, because I mean it for nothing more than some oranges, Mimosa Farnesiana and a very few things of that kind."

* [[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing Charleston, S.C. (1858: 130)<ref>David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'' (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie, 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "A passion for flowers has of late astonishingly increased. Many families in the capital, and several in the country, for some years past have been uncommonly attentive to [[flower garden]]s. Those who cannot command convenient spots of ground have their '''piazzas''', balconies, and windows richly adorned with the beauties of nature far beyond anything that was known in the days their infancy."

* [[William Dickinson Martin|Martin, William Dickinson]], May 13, 1809, Moore's Old Ordinary, Halifax, County, Va. (CWF)

: "We breakfasted this morning at a house much celebrated in Virginia, called Moore's old Ordinary. It was decidedly superior to any public house, we had yet stopt at on our Route . . . it was now morning, and many of the young people who remained where seated, or walking for their amusement in the cool shade of a long piazza, enjoying the morning breezes."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], July 22, 1810, in a letter to his son, [[Rembrandt Peale]], describing Belfield, estate of [[Charles Willson Peale]], Germantown, Pa. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 1991: 3:54-55)<ref>Lillian B. Miller and et al, eds.,''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: Charles Willson Peale: Artist in Revolutionary America, 1735-1791'' Vol. 1; ''Charles Willson Peale, Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810''. Vol 2, Pts. 1-2; ''The Belfield Farm Years, 1810-1820''. Vol. 3; ''The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale''. Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1983-2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "I have marked the ends of some Joice between the windows, from these I intend to make a '''Piazer''' extending round the south End. at the X is a fine spring runing out of a Rock—at this I shall make a spring House & perhaps a Mill."

* [[Margaret Bayard Smith|Smith, Margaret Bayard]], Summer 1811, describing Smith's summer retreat, Sidney, near Washington, D.C. (1906: 87)<ref name="Bayard, 1906"> Margaret Bayard Smith, ''The First Forty Years of Washington Society'', ed. by Gaillard Hunt (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1906), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/FTDFHRFH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "I had a table with benches round it in the front '''Piazza''', to which we removed after dinner to eat our desert [''sic'']."

* [[John Lambert|Lambert, John]], 1816, describing Beaufort, S.C.(2:207)<ref>John Lambert, ''Travels through Canada, and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808'', 2 vols. (London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1816), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T9KUEDWH view on Zotero].</ref>

: "One peculiarity, however, may be remarked respecting them, which is, that '''piazzas''' are generally attached to their southern front, as well for the convenience of walking therein during the day, as for preventing the sun's too great influence on the interior of the house."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 13, 1816, describing [[Eaglesfield]], country house of [[Robert Egglesof Griffith]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 290)<ref name="Foster_1997">Kathleen A. Foster, ''Captain Watson's Travels in America: The Sketchbooks and Diary of Joshua Rowley Watson, 1772-1818'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/J6Q29IVS view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "You enter the house from a '''Piazza''' 25 feet long, with a [[porch]] in a half circular form, supported by [[pillar]]s, into the hall. . . . The front windows of the eating & drawing rooms reach from near the top of the room to the floor, and open out on a spacious '''Piazza''' 46 ft long and 13 ft wide supported by 6 pillars, the whole front of the house. . . . Near the house is a [[pavilion]] with a '''Piazza''' all round it, it consists of two rooms and well situated for privacy."

* [[Joshua Rowley Watson|Watson, Joshua Rowley]], June 17, 1816, describing [[Belmont Mansion]], estate of [[Judge William Peters]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Foster 1997: 292-93)<ref name="Foster_1997"></ref>

: "Bellmont house is old, but is well built of stone and like all the Country houses, has a '''Piazza''' in front. I don't see why those in England should not have the same, which would secure a fine airy walk in all weathers, besides being ornamental to the building."

* <div id="Latrobe"></div>[[Mary Elizabeth Latrobe|Latrobe, Mary Elizabeth]], April 18, 1820, describing the home of [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], New Orleans, La. (1951: 181)<ref name="Latrobe_1951"> Benjamin Henry Latrobe. ''Impressions Respecting New Orleans: Diaries and Sketches, 1818–1820'', ed. Samuel Wilson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/MJS5EE69/q/latrobe view on Zotero]. </ref> [[#Latrobe_cite|back up to history]]

: "Our lot is 360 feet and 64 front, the house is up 16 steps with a '''Piazza''' (or Gallery as they call them here) the whole length of the house front and back, there is no entry or passage like our Baltimore houses."

*[[John Fanning Watson|Watson, John Fanning]], 1822-23, describing Cape May, N.J. (1857: 2:541)<ref name="Watson_1857">John Fanning Watson, ''Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time; Being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and Its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the Inland Part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders'', 2 vols. (Philadelphia: E. Thomas, 1857), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/5PTKBUW2 view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Among our few amusements—we swing—gather curious shells and pebbles upon the strand—walk the '''piazza''', and converse.

* [[Capt. Basil Hall|Hall, Capt. Basil]], 1828, describing a [[plantation]] he visited during his trip from Charleston, S.C., to Savannah, Ga. (quoted in Jones 1957: 98) <ref>Katharine M. Jones, ''The Plantation South'' (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/AT62T7KC/ view on Zotero].</ref>

: "From the drawing-room, we could walk into a [[verandah]] or '''piazza''', from which, by a flight of steps, we found our way into a [[flower garden]] and [[shrubbery]]."
[[File:1771.jpg|thumb|Fig. 20, Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.]]

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1828, describing Cincinnati, Ohio (1832: 1:147)<ref>Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'', 3rd edn, 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G view on Zotero].</ref>

: "Our cottage had an ample '''piazza''', (a luxury almost universal in the country houses of America), which, shaded by a group of acacias, made a delightful sitting-room."

[[File:1022.jpg|thumb|Fig. 21, Charles Alexandre Lesueur, "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.]]
* [[Sophie Madeleine Du Pont|Du Pont, Sophie Madeleine]], August 9, 1829, describing [[Eleutherian Mills]], estate of Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, near Wilmington, Del. (quoted in Low and Hinsley 1987: 93)<ref>Betty-Bright Low and Jacqueline Hinsley, ''Sophie du Pont, A Young Lady in America: Sketches, Diaries, & Letters, 1823-1833'', (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U2EJBX3K/q/Hinsley| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "Our new deer, Fanny, is very annoying—She is constantly on the '''piazza''', and seizes every opportunity of rushing into the house, and what is worse, is so tame that there is no frightening her away—Azor encouraged by her example, is almost always on the '''piazza''', and if any thing is left on the entry windows, they seize & devour it—if not, they knock it down." [Fig. 20]

* [[Thomas Say|Say, Thomas]], October 19, 1830, describing his residence in New Harmony, Ind. (Stroud 1992: 227)<ref> Patricia Tyson Stroud, ''Thomas Say: New World Naturalist'', (Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSIE7JGM/q/Stroud| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "In summer, hummingbirds, sometimes three or four at a time, visited the honeysuckle that 'clustered' over his ''''piazza'''.'" [Fig. 21]

* [[James Thacher|Thacher, James]], December 3, 1830, "An Excursion on the Hudson," describing [[Hyde Park]], [[seat]] of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (''New England Farmer'' 9: 156)

: "The mansion house at [[Hyde Park]] is elevated about 200 feet above the surface of the river. With its two wings it presents a noble front of 136 feet, and is two stories above the basement. The centre or principal building, has a '''piazza''' on both fronts; the west front is open to the Hudson, and the east looks over a spacious, beautiful [[lawn]] towards the turnpike from New York to Albany."

* [[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], June 19, 1832, describing Jacksonville, Ill. (1975: 346-47) <ref>William Cullen Bryant, ''The Letters of William Cullen Bryant'' vol. 1, ed. by William Cullen II Bryant and Thomas G. Voss (New York: Fordham University Press, 1975), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3X5XUJ6A view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The dwelling was of the most wretched description. It consisted of but one room about half of which was taken up with beds and cribs. . . . In an enormous fireplace blazed a huge fire . . . the hostess and her daughter were busy in cooking a supper for several travellers who were sitting under a kind of '''piazza''' in front of the house or standing in the [[yard]]. . . . About eleven preparations were made for repose. . . . The floor of the '''piazza''' was also occupied with men wrapped in their blankets."

* [[Joseph Holt Ingraham|Ingraham, Joseph Holt]], 1835, describing a sugar [[plantation]] near New Orleans, La. (1:80-81, 231, 243)<ref>Joseph Holt Ingraham, ''The South-west'', 2 vols. (New York: Harper, 1835), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/DTFA8CCM view on Zotero].</ref>

: "The house was quadrangular, with a high steep [[Dutch style|Dutch]] roof, immensely large and two stories in height. . . . [It was] built of wood, painted white, with Venetian blinds, and latticed [[veranda]]s, supported by slender and graceful [[pillar]]s, running round every side of the dwelling. . . . At each extremity of the '''piazza''' was a broad and spacious flight of steps, descending into the garden which enclosed the dwelling on every side. . . .
<p></p>
: "Around the semi-circular flight of steps, ascending to the '''piazza''' of the dwelling,—the [[column]]s of which were festooned with the golden jasmine and luxuriant multiflora,—stood, in large green vases, a variety of flowers . . . breathing gales of fragrance upon the air. From this point the main [[avenue]] branches to the right and left, into narrower, yet not less beautiful [[walk]]s, which, lined with evergreen and flowering shrubs, completely encircled the cottage. . . .
<p></p>
: "Passing from this [[plantation]] scene through the airy [[hall]] of the dwelling, which opened from '''piazza''' to '''piazza''' through the house, to the front gallery, whose light [[column]]s were wreathed with the delicately leaved Cape-jasmine, rambling woodbine and honeysuckle, a lovelier and more agreeable scene met my eye. I stood almost embowered in the foliage of exotics and native plants, which stood upon the gallery in handsome vases of marble and China-ware. The main [[avenue]] opened a [[vista]] to the river through a paradise of althea, orange, lemon, and olive trees, and [[grove]]s and [[lawn]]s extended on both sides of this lovely spot, 'Where Flora's brightest broidery shone,' terminating at the villas of adjoining [[plantations]]."

* <div id="Martineau"></div>[[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing Jamaica Pond, vicinity of Boston, Mass. (1838: 2:182-83)<ref name="Martineau_1838">Harriet Martineau, ''Retrospect of Western Travel'', 2 vols. (London: Saunders and Otley, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/H2BW5FRU view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Martineau_cite|back up to history]]

: "A cottage on Jamaica Pond, for instance, within an easy ride of Boston, is a luxurious summer abode. I know of one unequalled in its attractions, with its [[flower garden|flower-garden]], its [[lawn]], with banks shelving down to the mere; banks dark with rustling pines, from under whose shade the bright track of the moon may be seen, lying cool on the rippling waters. A boat is moored in the cove at hand. The cottage itself is built for coolness, and its broad '''piazza''' is draperied with vines, which keep out the sun from the shaded parlours."

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. (1838: 1:200)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "After the service we walked to the University, at the distance, I think, of a little more than a mile from the town. The singular ranges of college buildings are visible from a considerable distance, as they advantageously crown an eminence, presenting the appearance of a '''piazza''' surrounding an oblong [[square]], with the professors' houses rising at regular intervals. We found that the low buildings connecting these larger dwellings were the dormitories of the students; ground-floor apartments opening into the '''piazza''', and designed to serve as places of study as well as sleep." [See Fig. 7]

* [[Harriet Martineau|Martineau, Harriet]], 1835, describing life in the southern United States (1838: 1:219)<ref name="Martineau_1838"></ref>

: "You are then invited to see the house, learning by the way the extent and value of the estate you are visiting, and of the 'force' upon it. You admire the lofty, cool rooms, with their green blinds, and the width of the '''piazzas''' on both sides [of] the house, built to compensate for the want of shade from trees, which cannot be allowed near the dwelling for fear of moschetoes [''sic'']."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1839, "Notices of Gardens and Horticulture, in Salem, Mass," describing [[Elfin Glen]], residence of P. Dodge, Salem, Mass. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 5: 404)

: "The cottage stands near the road, and is entered from the west front; on the south end is a '''piazza'''; the drawing-room opens into this, and thence into the garden to an open space, answering somewhat the purpose of a [[terrace]], neatly gravelled."

* Franklin Fire Insurance Company, December 20, 1839, describing [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]], Philadelphia, Pa. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 57)<ref name="Greiff_1979">Constance Greiff, ''John Notman, Architect, 1810-1865'' (Philadelphia: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/SXT2RI6Z view on Zotero.].</ref>

: "A two Story Stone Building With An [[Arch]] Way for an Entrance to [[Laurel Hill Cemetery]] from the Ridge Road.
<p></p>
: "Dimensions: The Whole front including the [[Arch]] is 68 feet; to wit, in the Centre is the [[Arch]] 12 feet Span, On each Side of the [[Arch]] Way is an [[Arch]] '''Piazza'''. Across the building 9 feet wide, the remaining 19 feet on each side of said arches is divided into lodge rooms, 2 each Story at each Side: the Width of Building 26 1/2 feet with a '''Piazza''' on each Side Whole length of the Building; The '''Piazza''' in front next to the Road is 10 feet Wide the One next to the Cemetery is 8 feet wide. The front '''Piazza''' has 4 round frame [[Pillar]]s in front on each side of the [[Arch]]. . . . The floors to all the '''Piazzas''' are faced Sand Stone; The '''Piazza''' under the building on each side of the Entrance has 4 round [[Pillar]]s . . . the [[Arch]]es over the '''Piazzas''' along side of Entrance made in the same way & having block Cornices. There is a cast iron & a wooden laticed Gate to Entrance & a double panel door in front to each '''Piazza''' by the side of the large [[Arch]], plain jambs painted & sanded: there is a similar door way at the other end of said '''Piazzas''' (but no doors hung) with panel jambs . . . from each '''Piazza''' by the Side of the [[Arch]] there is an entrance Door Midway to the lodge rooms 1st Story which leads directly to a Straight Boxed Stairway to 2nd Story."

* [[John Warner Barber|Barber, John Warner]], and [[Henry Howe]], 1841, describing Jefferson Barracks, Sacketts Harbour, N.Y. (p. 211)<ref>John Warner Barber and Henry Howe, ''Historical Collections of the State of New York; Containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state,'' (New York: S. Tuttle, 1841), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IUJRUUA5/q/Barber| view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The two long ranges of buildings in the distance, facing the spectator, are the officers' quarters. The buildings at each end are the soldiers' barracks. These structures are of limestone ... with neat '''piazzas''' in front, forming three sides of a [[square]], on which is the parade ground."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], November 1841, "Notes made during a Visit to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, &c.," describing the residence of James Dundas, Philadelphia, Pa. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 7: 420)

: "The [[conservatory]] as well as the drawing- room, opens into a '''piazza'''."

*[[James Silk Buckingham|Buckingham, James Silk]], 1842, describing Red Sulphur Springs, Va. (CWF)

: "One of these [ranges of chambers] is called "Bachelor's Room", as it consists only of single rooms, not more than twelve feet square, with a door letting in immediately from the public '''piazza''', up and down which everybody walks, so that the door cannot be opened without the whole interior of the room being exposed. Each of these has two windows, less than two feet square, one opening into the '''piazza''', and the other against the rock of the hill beyond."

*[[William Cullen Bryant|Bryant, William Cullen]], March 6, 1843, describing Charleston, S.C. (quoted in Clarke 1993: 2:150)<ref name="Clarke_1993">Graham Clarke, ed., ''The American Landscape: Literary Sources and Documents'', 3 vols. (East Sussex, England: Helm Information, 1993), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TRGJ9W95 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The city of Charleston strikes the visitor from the North most agreeably. He perceives at once that he is in a different climate. The spacious houses are surrounded with broad '''piazzas''', often a '''piazza''' to each story, for the sake of shade and coolness, and each house generally stands by itself in a garden planted with trees and shrubs, many of which preserve their verdure through the winter."

* [[Charles Evans|Evans, Charles]], 1846, describing [[Friends Asylum for the Insane]], near Frankford, Pa. (p. 10) <ref> Charles Evans, ''An Account of the Asylum'', (Philadelphia: Joseph Rakestraw, 1846), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/CKN72CQS/q/Charles%20Evans| view on Zotero.] </ref>

: "At the termination of a gravel [[walk]] leading directly from the house through these two gardens, at the distance of about three hundred feet, is an ornamental house, surrounded on all sides by a '''piazza''', fitted up as a library and reading room, and containing numerous specimens of natural history, maps, drawings, &c., &c., affording a most agreeable resort for such patients as may be considered by the physician well enough to enjoy it."

*[[John Notman|Notman, John]], December 26, 1846, describing his designs for the [[Smithsonian Institution]], Washington, D.C. (quoted in Greiff 1979: 117)<ref name="Greiff_1979"></ref>

: "No. I, is the ground plan. . . . On both sides or fronts of the building where strong direct light is neither desirable nor necessary, piazzas are made within the line of [[wall]]s, forming four sheltered ambulatories or cloisters, each 90 feet long by 10 feet wide; they are also passages from one point to another. . . .
<p></p>
: "The halls, corridors, '''piazza''', and [[porch]]es, [are] to be paved." [See Fig. 4]

* Anonymous, August 1848, describing [[Riversdale]], estate of George and Rosalie Stier Calvert, Prince George's County, Md. (''American Farmer'' 4: 53)

: "The main building is 68 by about 50 feet, with an elegant [[''Portico'']] on its northern [front], and a '''''Piaza''''' [''sic''], running its entire length, on its southern front, each constructed with due regard to classic and architectural propriety."

* [[Rev. C. C. Jones|Jones, Rev. C. C.]], June 5, 1851, in a letter to his wife, Mary Jones, describing [[Hermitage]], estate of [[Andrew Jackson]], Nashville, Tenn. ([1851] 1976: 175)<ref>C. C. Jones, ''A Georgian at Princeton'', ed. by Robert Manson Myers (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, [1851] 1976) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7X6BDD92 view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "The carriage drew up at the '''piazza''', resembling the [[Mount Vernon]] '''piazza''', paved with limestone flags, and with the fluted [[column]]s running to the cornice above the second story."

* <div id="Mason"></div>[[General John Mason|Mason, General John]], c. 1830, describing [[Gunston Hall]], [[seat]] of [[George Mason]], Mason Neck, Va. (quoted in Rowland 1964: 1:98)<ref>Rowland, Kate Mason. 1964. ''The Life of George Mason: 1725-1792'', 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1964), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HTZXK292 view on Zotero].</ref>[[#Mason_cite|back up to history]]

: "The south front looked to the river; from an elevated little '''portico''' on this front you descended directly into an extensive garden, touching the house on one side."

===Citations===

* [[Ephraim Chambers|Chambers, Ephraim]], 1741-43, ''Cyclopaedia'' (2:n.p.)<ref name="Chambers_1741-43">Ephraim Chambers, ''Cyclopaedia, or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. . . .'',5th ed., 2 vols. (London: D. Midwinter et al., 1741-43), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/PTXK378N view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "'''PIAZZA''', in building, popularly called ''piache'', an Italian name for a [[portico]], or covered [[walk]], supported by [[arch]]es. See [[PORTICO]].
<p></p>
: "The word literally signifies a broad open place or [[square]]; whence it also became applied to the [[walk]]s or [[portico]]'s around them. . . .
<p></p>
: "[[PORTICO]], in architecture, a kind of gallery on the ground; or a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es supported by [[column]]s, where people walk under covert. See '''PIAZZA'''."

* [[Isaac Ware|Ware, Isaac]], 1756, ''Complete Body of Architecture'' (p. 31)<ref>Isaac Ware, ''A Complete Body of Architecture'' (London: T. Osborne and J. Shipton, 1756), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/2EK2USKV view on Zotero.]</ref>

: "PORTICO.
<p></p>
: "A place for walking under shelter, raised with [[arch]]es, in the manner of a gallery. The [[portico]] is usually vaulted, but it has sometimes a soffit, or ceiling. The [[''portico'']] is a '''piazza''' encompassed with [[arch]]es raised upon [[column]]s, and covered over head in any manner."

* [[William Prince|Prince, William]], 1828, ''A Short Treatise on Horticulture'' (pp. 145-46)

: "''Sweetbriar, or Eglantine''.—This delightful species of the rose family is well calculated to train against the sides of houses, or up the [[pillar]]s of the '''piazza''', or to intermingle with the vines which entwine bowers, &c."

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.)<ref name="Webster_1828">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', vol. 1 (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467 view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PIAZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;'' Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered walk supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. Encyc."

[[File:0938.jpg|thumb|Fig. 22, James E. Teschemacher, "A green-house constructed at the centre of a cottage", May 1, 1835.]]
* <div id="Teschemacher"></div>[[James E. Teschemacher|Teschemacher, James E.]], May 1. 1835, "On Horticultural Architecture" (''Horticultural Register'' 1: 159)[[#Teschemacher_cite|back up to history]]

: "The '''piazzas''' of many houses are formed by a continuation of the roof supported by thick [[pillar]]s, which give them a heavy appearance; those in the drawing are intended to represent '''piazzas''', with concave roofs formed of painted floor cloth, fastened on slight wooden rafters, cut with curve desired, then supported by slender [[pillar]]s connected by wooden [[arch]]es with open work; such pillars may be quickly encircled by hardy climbing plants." [Fig. 22]

* [[Noah Webster|Webster, Noah]], 1848, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (p. 824)<ref name="Webster_1848">Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language... Revised and Enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich....'' (Springfield, Mass.: George and Charles Merriam, 1848), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/EBZ5Z7ET view on Zotero]</ref>

: "'''PI-AZ'ZA''', n. [It. for ''plazza''; Sp. ''plaza''; Port. ''praça'', for ''plaça;''; Fr. ''place''; Eng. ''id.''; D. ''plaats''; G. ''platz''; Dan. ''plads''; Sw. ''plats''.]
<p></p>
: "1. In ''building'', a [[portico]] or covered [[walk]] supported by [[arch]]es or [[column]]s. ''P. Cyc''.
<p></p>
: "2. In ''Italian'', it denotes a square open space surrounded by buildings. ''Gwilt.''"

[[File:0779.jpg|thumb|Fig. 23, Frances Palmer, "South Front Elevation" of Italian Bracketed Villa at Oswego N.Y., 1851.]]
* <div id="Ranlett2"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 14, 16-17, 32, 38, 39)<ref name="Ranlett_1849">William H. Ranlett, ''The Architect'', 2 vols. (New York: Da Capo, 1976), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/QGQPCB5J/ view on Zotero.]</ref>[[#Ranlett2_cite|back up to history]]

: "The design given in this part of the Architect, number XXVI., is the plan of a Villa in the Anglo-Italian style, now in process of erection on the south side of Lake Ontario, in the city of Oswego. . . .
<p></p>
: "ROOFS, CORNICE, &c. . . . The first section of main roof to be covered with first quality 3 feet cedar shingles, laid three thick on hard-wood lath; the roofs of the top section, the two wings, the '''piazza''', [[portico]]s, bay and oriel windows, covered with tongued and grooved plank, and overlaid with 'Naylor's patent tinned iron plates,' with ridge joints. . . . principal [[portico]] and '''piazza''' roofs to be supported by eight round fluted Corinthian [[column]]s, with carved caps and turned bases . . . the ceiling of the [[portico]] and '''piazza''', of narrow, clear boards; the filling below the several floors of '''piazza''', gallery and [[veranda]] to be open work.
<p></p>
: "On the south is a flat-roofed '''piazza''', with open balustrade railing, supported by Corinthian [[column]]s. . . . [Fig. 23]
<p></p>
: "the absence of a '''piazza''', the lack of all ornamentation, of vines and [[shrubbery]] [of a house recently erected in the suburbs of N.Y.], bespeak a degree of ignorance of the means of enjoyment, of niggardliness and contracted views, that ere long will be looked upon with incredulity."

* <div id="Ranlett1"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1849, ''The Architect'' ([1849] 1976: 1:21) <ref name="Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett1_cite|back up to history]]

: "[[Veranda]]s, '''piazzas''' and [[porch]]es are very expressive of purpose, and a dwelling should always have one or more of them; and balconies, which are decidedly ornamental and not without use."

* <div id="Downing1"></div>[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1850, ''The Architecture of Country Houses'' ([1850] 1968: 357-58)<ref>A. J. [Andrew Jackson] Downing, ''The Architecture of Country Houses; Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas'' (Originally published New York: D. Appleton, 1850. Reprint, New York: De Capo, 1968) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/GRZPQXQI view on Zotero]</ref> [[#Downing1_cite|back up to history]]

: "The larger expression of domestic enjoyment is conveyed by the [[veranda]], or ''piazza''. In a cool climate, like that of England, the [[veranda]] is a feature of little importance; and the same thing is true in a considerable degree in the northern part of New England. But over almost the whole extent of the United States, a [[veranda]] is a positive luxury in all the warmer part of the year, since in midsummer it is the resting place, lounging spot, and place of social resort, of the whole family, at certain hours of the day. It is not, however, an absolute necessity, like a kitchen or a bed-room, and, therefore, the smallest cottages, or those dwellings in which economy and utility are the leading considerations, are constructed without [[verandas]]. But the moment the dwelling rises so far in dignity above the merely useful as to employ any considerable feature not entirely intended for use, then the [[veranda]] should find its place; or, if not an architectural [[veranda]], then, at least, the [[arbor]]-[[veranda]], covered with foliage. . . . To decorate a cottage highly, which has no [[veranda]]-like feature, is, in this climate, as unphilosophical and false in taste, as it would be to paint a log-hut, or gild the rafters of a barn: unphilosophical, because all that relative beauty suggested by features which indicate a more refined enjoyment than what grows out of the necessities of life should first have its manifestation, since it is the most significant and noble beauty of which the subject is capable; and false in taste, because it is bestowing embellishment on the inferior and minor details, and neglecting the more important and more characteristic features of a dwelling."

* <div id="Ranlett3"></div>[[William H. Ranlett|Ranlett, William H.]], 1851, ''The Architect'' ([1851] 1976: 2:38, 53)<ref name= "Ranlett_1849"></ref>[[#Ranlett3_cite|back up to history]]

: "The art of landscape gardening is an essential part of the accomplishments of an architect, for the main beauty of a rural dwelling is its harmonizing with the scene of which it forms a part. The same house that looked [[picturesque]] and beautiful on the top of a hill would look extravagant and whimsical on a plain; a country house with a southern front should have a projecting roof and a '''piazza'''; but one fronting the north would look more cold and cheerless by the addition of an overhanging roof or a [[veranda]]. Yet nothing is more common than to see houses in the country with gloomy-looking '''piazzas''' on the north side which is always in shadow, while the back part is left to scorch in the sun without even the protection of a hooded window to cast a shadow."

==Images==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1732.jpg|[[Batty Langley]] and [[Thomas Langley]], ''Four Examples of Arcades for Piazza's'' [''sic''], in ''Gothic Architecture, Improved by Rules and Proportions in many Ground Designs'' (1747), pl. 29.
File:0461.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of Bath (Berkeley Springs), Va., 1787. Plan lists "bb" as "two Piazzas with [[seat]]s".
File:0069.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]], 1787. See Detail.
File:0069_Detail3.jpg|[[Samuel Vaughan]], Plan of the buildings and grounds of [[Mount Vernon]] [detail], 1787. "Piazza 18 feet high" is inscribed at the top of the detail.
File:1219.jpg|[[Robert Mills]], Design for the Joseph Hand Villa, 1807. "Piazza" is inscribed on the principal story.
File:0116.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Sketches of Belfield, 1810.
File:0009.jpg|[[Charles Willson Peale]], Letter to Angelica Peale describing his garden at Belfield, November 22, 1815.
File:0720.jpg|[[Charles Bulfinch]], "Joseph Barrell House remodeled as McLean Hospital", 1817. "Covered piazza" is inscribed on either side of the upper [[terrace]].
File:0597.jpg|William Strickland, "Sketch of the Principal Story of the [United States] Naval Asylum", 1826.
File:1254.jpg|[[John Notman]], "No. 1 Ground Plan, Smithsonian Institute", December 23, 1846. "Piazza" is inscribed near the front of of the building on either side of the "Hall of Entrance" and at the back of the building on either side of the "Principal Stair".

</gallery>

=== Associated===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:1771.jpg|Anne-Marguerite-Henriette Rouillé de Marigny Hyde de Neuville, ''Eleutherian Mills'', c. 1817.
File:0505.jpg|Anonymous (artist), Benjamin Tanner (engraver), ''University of Virginia'', 1826.
File:1022.jpg|[[Charles Alexandre Lesueur]], "Residence of Thomas Say, Esqr. (Naturalist) at New Harmony, Indiana", 1840.
File:0320.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "York-Island with a View of the Seats of Mr. A. Gracie, Mr. Church &c.," 1808, in William Russell Birch and Emily Cooperman, ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 75, pl. 17.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0272.jpg|[[Ralph Earl]], ''Captain Elijah Dewey'', 1798.
File:0233.jpg|[[Charles Fraser]], ''Another View of Brabants, on French Quarter Creek, Seat of the Late Bishop Smith'', 1800.

</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-01T22:33:03Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805.
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape.

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 ([[#Drayton|view citation]]) use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia, and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], ([[#M'Mahon|view citation]]) who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground." By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]] ([[#Johnson|view citation]])
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms. Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817([[#Abercrombie|view text]]), the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]], ([[#Jefferson|view text]])
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]]. Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house. In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]]. [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s. To that same end, [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond.

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

* [[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the pleasure ground....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-01T22:32:40Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805.
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape.

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 ([[#Drayton|view citation]]) use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia, and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], ([[#M'Mahon|view citation]]) who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground." By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]] ([[#Johnson|view citation]])
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms. Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817([[#Abercrombie|view text]]), the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 <span id="Jefferson_cite"></span> [[Thomas Jefferson]],([[#Jefferson|view text]])
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]]. Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house. In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]]. [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s. To that same end, [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond.

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* <div id="Jefferson"></div>[[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Jefferson_cite|back up to history]]

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

* [[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the pleasure ground....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-01T22:29:58Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805.
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape.

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 ([[#Drayton|view citation]]) use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia, and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], ([[#M'Mahon|view citation]]) who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground." By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]] ([[#Johnson|view citation]])
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms. Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817([[#Abercrombie|view text]]), the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1843].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 [[Thomas Jefferson]],
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]]. Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1843([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house. In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]]. [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s. To that same end, [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond.

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

* [[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the pleasure ground....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]

Pleasure ground/Pleasure garden

2015-07-01T22:29:02Z

K-perkov:

== History ==

In colonial and federal America, pleasure
ground typically denoted an ornamented
landscape composed of [[lawn]], trees, shrubs,
flowers, intersecting [[walk]]s, and decorative
structures. The designation was employed in
reference to both private and public landscapes
catering to pleasure and amusement,
including the public [[park]] or [[mall]] and the
grounds of wealthy estates. The terms "ornamented grounds" or
"ornamental grounds" also were used in reference
to these designed landscapes,
although with much less frequency than
"pleasure ground" or simply "ground." The
single word "ground," or "grounds," was
used in reference to areas surrounding a
house, but did not necessarily distinguish
between ornamental and utilitarian or agricultural
spaces.

Although defined with slight variations in
treatises, the pleasure ground was consistently
associated with beauty, order, and the
improvement of nature. As such, the feature
was promoted frequently as an ideal complement
to a well-designed house, as [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] insisted in 1805.
Typically located in close proximity to the
house, the pleasure ground was visible and
easily accessible from prominent rooms of
the house. British landscape designer
[[Humphry Repton]] occasionally described the
pleasure ground as "dressed," which underscores
the term's reference to an improved
part of the landscape.

[[File:0973.jpg|thumb|left| Fig. 1, [[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. The pleasure ground is located to the left of the grid town plan.]]
Pleasure ground was also a term applied
to public gardens [Fig. 1]. The term implied
both ornament and outdoor enjoyment,
explaining its frequent use in relation to
urban [[park]]s. Assigning the term to such
spaces signaled that they were treated aesthetically,
designed in accord with principles
used in private grounds. This parallel was
relevant particularly for spaces that had
been formerly utilitarian. For example, when
[[Boston Common]] was redesigned into a public
[[park]], various contemporary speakers
described the resulting space as a pleasure
ground in order to reaffirm its shift in use
from a site for husbandry to one of public
amusement and enjoyment.<ref> Also see A.J. Downing's writings between 1850 and 1851 about public parks and his plans for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The latter included a pleasure ground in front of the Smithsonian Institution, to be filled with ornamental plantings and a monumental park. </ref>
[[Common]]s, in fact, typically had been used
for activities such as grazing or bivouacking.

The term appears to have come into general
use in the late eighteenth century. It is
related to the term pleasure garden, used
by such treatise writers as [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville]] (1712) to describe ornamented
landscapes that included [[parterre]]s, [[grove]]s,
grass [[plot]]s, [[arbor]]s, [[fountain]]s, and [[cascade]]s.<ref>A.-J. Dézallier
d'Argenville, ''The Theory and Practice of Gardening'',
trans. John James (Farnborough, England: Gregg International,
[1712] 1969), 1-2. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RNT8ZVZ8/q/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Gardening| view on Zotero]</ref>
The terms were relatively interchangeable in
the nineteenth century, as indicated by
<span id="Drayton_cite"></span> [[Charles Drayton]]'s 1806 ([[#Drayton|view citation]]) use of the phrase
"pleasure ground or garden" to describe the
designed landscape at the Woodlands near
Philadelphia, and by treatise writer <span id="M'Mahon_cite"></span> [[Bernard M'Mahon]], ([[#M'Mahon|view citation]]) who in the same year referred to
the "Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, or Pleasure-ground." By the time <span id="Johnson_cite"></span> [[George William Johnson]] ([[#Johnson|view citation]])
published his dictionary in 1847,
however, pleasure ground had emerged as
the preferred of the two terms. Although his
definition listed exactly the same features as
those catalogued by [[A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville | Dézallier d'Argenville]],
[[George William Johnson | Johnson]] chose to associate these with the
term "pleasure ground."

The lack of distinction between pleasure
grounds and pleasure gardens resulted from
their shared function and shared materials.
Both catered to sensual and visual pleasure,
and both utilized flowers and shrubs, which
were also used in [[flower garden]]s and [[shrubbery|shrubberies]].
The distinguishing characteristic of
the pleasure ground appears to have been
its larger size. A [[flower garden]] or [[shrubbery]]
could, for example, be encompassed within a
pleasure ground, but not the reverse. A
pleasure ground might thus include [[lawn]]s,
[[wood]]s, and water, in addition to shrubs and
flowers. As <span id="Abercrombie_cite"></span> [[John Abercrombie]] and [[James Mean]] explained in 1817([[#Abercrombie|view text]]), the pleasure ground
should be a judicious mixture and balance of
[[flower garden]], [[lawn]], and [[shrubbery]], in emulation
of "the moderation with which nature
scatters her ornaments."

In keeping with the use of the pleasure
ground as a display for ornamental plants, a
marked interest in shrubs and trees can be
detected in numerous accounts of American pleasure grounds. For example, [[David Meade]]'s (1793) pleasure ground featured
forest and fruit trees; [[William Hamilton]]'s
(1802) pleasure ground at the Woodlands
included copses "of native trees, interspersed
with artificial [[grove]]s . . . set with
trees collected from all parts of the world";
and Judge Peters's (1849) pleasure ground
was known for its "rarest trees and shrubs."
For the pleasure grounds at the national
Mall in Washington, D.C., [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] proposed
a "<nowiki />[[picturesque]]<nowiki />" scheme "thickly planted
with the rarest trees and shrubs, to give
greater seclusion and beauty to its immediate
precincts."<ref> Therese O'Malley, "'A Public Museum of Trees': Mid-Nineteenth Century Plans for the Mall," in
''The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991'', ed. Richard Longstreth (Washington, D.C.:
National Gallery of Art, 1991), 68. [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IV2DGE4I/q/A%20Public%20Museum%20of%20Trees| view on Zotero]</ref> In addition to displaying
plant material and providing an appropriately
ornamented setting for the house,
pleasure grounds provided spaces for walks.
Englishman [[Augustus John Foster]] (1807), for
example, attributed the lack of pleasure
grounds in Virginia to a lack of appreciation
for walking outdoors.

Although the pleasure ground was easily
conflated with other ornamental features, it
was considered distinct from utilitarian
areas of the grounds, such as [[kitchen garden]]s.
(See, for example, references from [[J. C. Loudon]] [1826] and [[Jane Loudon]] [1845].) The
decoration of pleasure grounds reinforced
the distinction between the utilitarian and
the ornamental; in 1804 [[Thomas Jefferson]],
for example, noted that garden [[temple]]s
were more appropriate to the pleasure
ground than to the [[kitchen garden]]. Other
ornamental structures found in pleasure
grounds included [[summerhouse]]s (also
called pleasure houses), [[trellis]]es, [[bower]]s,
and rustic [[seat]]s.

[[File:0099.jpg|thumb|Fig. 2, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.]] Decorative objects and structures were important not only as ornaments to the pleasure grounds, but also as markers of particular styles, as <span id="JaneLoudon_cite"></span> [[Jane Loudon]] argued in 1845([[#JaneLoudon|view text]]). [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon]] (1806) distinguished pleasure grounds executed in the [[ancient style]] from those done in the [[modern style]]. The former was characterized by geometric design and the latter by broad curving sweeps of vegetation assembled in imitation of rural nature.

The [[modern style]] of pleasure ground
described by [[Jane Loudon | Loudon]] and [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]] bore a
strong resemblance to a [[park]], which also displayed
clumps of trees and swatches of grass. Some designers preferred distinct
boundaries between the two features. In his
1803 treatise, [[Humphry Repton | Repton]] advocated separating
the pleasure ground from the [[park]] by a [[wall]]
that would prevent passers-by from looking
into the private realm of the house. In his 1807
plan for the White House, [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe | Latrobe]] proposed
that a road divide the adjacent public [[park]]
from the inner sanctum of the president's
pleasure grounds [Fig. 2]. Devices such as
[[hedge]]s, live [[fence]]s, stone [[wall]]s, palisade
[[fence]]s, and iron [[fence]]s were also proposed as
boundary markers.

Other designers obliterated any division
between pleasure ground and [[park]]. [[Bernard M'Mahon | M'Mahon]],
in his extensive definition of pleasure grounds,
argued that the precinct of the pleasure
ground might include adjacent fields and
[[park]]s. To that same end, [[A.J. Downing | Downing]] (1849), like
many of his British predecessors, proposed
using a [[ha-ha]] to blend visually the pleasure
ground with the [[park]] beyond.

--''Anne L. Helmreich''

== Texts ==

=== Usage ===

*[[Capt. Francis Goelet|Goelet, Capt. Francis]], c. 1750, describing the residence and garden of Edmund Quincy, Boston, Mass. (quoted in Pearson 1980: 6)<ref>Danella Pearson, "Shirley-Eustis House Landscape History", in ''Old-Time New England'' 70 (1980), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/E2F8TJTH/q/Pearson| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "about Ten Yards from the House is a Beautiful [[canal|Cannal]], which is Supplyd by a Brook which is well Stockt with Fine Silver Eels, we Cought a fine Parcell and carried them Home and had them drest for Supper, the House has a Beautifull '''Pleasure Garden''' Adjoyning it, and on the Back Part the Building is a Beautiful [[Orchard]] with fine fruit trees, etc."

*Anonymous, January 28, 1771, describing Vauxhall Garden, New York, N.Y. (''New York Gazette, and Weekly Mercury'')

: "To be sold at private Sale, the commodious house and large gardens, in the out ward of this city, known by the name of VAUXHALL; the situation extremely pleasant, having a very extensive [[view]] both up and down the North River. . . . there are 36 lots and a half of ground laid out to great advantage in a '''pleasure''', and [[kitchen garden|kitchen]] '''garden''', well stock'd with fruit and other trees, vegetables, &c.
:and several [[summer houses]] which occasionally may be removed; the whole in extreme good order and repair, well fenced in, very fit for a large family, or to entertain the gentry, &c. as a public garden, &c. The premises are on lease from Trinity Church, sixty one years of which are yet to come."

*[[John Jones Spooner|Spooner, John Jones]], 1793, describing Maycox Plantation, estate of David Meade, Prince George's County, Va. (quoted in Martin 1991: 103)<ref>Peter Martin, ''Pleasure Gardens of Virginia: From Jamestown to Jefferson.'' (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/6TAHS88N/q/Martin| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''pleasure grounds''' of David Meade, Esq., of Maycox. . . . These grounds contain about twelve acres, laid out on the banks of James river in a most beautifull and enchanting manner. Forest and fruit trees are here arranged, as if nature and art had conspired together to strike the eye most agreeably. Beautiful [[view/vista|vistas]], which open as many pleasing [[view/vista|views]] of the river."

*[[Isaac Weld|Weld, Isaac]], 1799, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (p. 47)<ref>Isaac Weld, ''Travels through the States of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797.'' Vol. 2. (London: John Stockdale, 1799),[https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/4HPKRDA7/q/weld| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "One hundred acres of ground, towards the river, are left adjoining to the house for '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[John Cosens Ogden|Ogden, John Cosens]], 1800, describing Bethlehem, Pa. (p. 13)<ref> John C. Ogden, ''An Excursion into Bethlehem & Nazareth, in Pennsylvania, in the Year 1799'', (Philadelphia: Charles Cist, 1800), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U5CTTBGB/q/ogden| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The sloping banks formed by nature, and the [[walk]]s by which we mount the hill, prepared by labor, join their varieties, to convert this fertile spot into the appearance of a '''pleasure garden.'''"
[[File:0304.jpg|thumb|Fig. 3, [[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva." 1808.]]

*[[Rev. Manasseh Cutler|Cutler, Rev. Manasseh]], January 2, 1802, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (1987: 2:145)<ref> William Parker Cutler, ''Life, Journals, and Correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D'' (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1987), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/3PBNT7H9/| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "We then walked over the '''pleasure grounds''' in front and a little back of the house. It is formed into [[walk]]s, in every direction, with [[border]]s of flowering shrubs and trees. Between are [[lawn]]s of : green grass, frequently mowed to make them convenient for walking, and at different distances numerous copse of native trees, interspersed with artificial [[grove]]s, which are set with trees collected from all parts of the world." [Fig. 3]

* [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson, Thomas]], 1804, describing [[Monticello]], plantation of [[Thomas Jefferson]], Charlottesville, Va. (quoted in Nichols and Griswold 1978: 110-11),<ref> Frederick Doveton Nichols and Ralph E. Griswold, ''Thomas Jefferson, Landscape Architect'', (Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1978), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/RUZC4Q3D/q/Griswold| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "At the Rocks . . . a turning Tuscan [[temple]] . . . proportions of Pantheon, . . . at the Point, . . . build Demosthene's lantern. . ..The [[kitchen garden]] is not the place for ornaments of this kind. [[bower]]s and [[trellis|treillages]] suit that better, & these [[temples]] will be better disposed in the '''pleasure grounds'''."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]], 26 March 1805, describing a design for a house in Philadelphia, Pa. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; hereafter CWF)

: "The design No. I, if no larger in extent as to the ground it occupies than is wished combines as far as I possess the talent to combine them, the separate advantages of an English and a French town residence of a genteel family. My objects in this residence design were: 1. To avoid back buildings, for which the ground is indeed to shallow if a '''pleasure ground''' and stables on the [[Alley]], both necessary appendages to a good house, are required."

*<div id="Drayton"></div>[[Charles Drayton|Drayton, Charles]], November 2, 1806, describing the Woodlands, seat of [[William Hamilton]], near Philadelphia, Pa. (Drayton Hall, Charles Drayton Diaries, 1784-1820, typescript)[[#Drayton_cite|back up to history]]

: "The Approach, its road, [[woods]], [[lawn]] & clumps, are laid out with much taste & ingenuity. Also the location of the Stables: with a [[Yard]] between the house, stables, [[lawn]]s of approach or [[park]], & the '''pleasure ground''' or '''garden'''."

*[[Sir Augustus John Foster|Foster, Sir Augustus John]], c. 1807, describing [[Montpelier]], plantation of [[James Madison]], Montpelier Station, Va. (1954: 142) <ref>Sir Augustus John Foster, ''Jeffersonian America, Notes on the United States of America Collected in the Years 1805-1806-1807 and 1811-1812'', ed. Richard Beale Davis, (San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1954), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/7FU8NDF4/q/foster| view on Zotero] </ref>

:"There are some very fine [[woods]] about [[Montpellier]], but no '''pleasure grounds''', though [[James Madison|Mr. Madison]] talks of some day laying out space for an English [[park]], which he might render very beautiful from the easy graceful descent of his hills into the plains below. The ladies, however, whom I have known in Virginia, like those of Italy generally speaking, scarcely even venture out of their houses to walk or to enjoy beautiful scenery. A high situation from whence they can have an extensive prospect is their delight and in fact the heat is too great in these latitudes to allow of such English tastes to exist in the same degree at least as in the mother country. A '''pleasure ground''', too, to be kept in order, would in fact be very expensive, and all hands are absolutely wanted for the [[plantation]]."

*[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe|Latrobe, Benjamin Henry]] March 17, 1807, describing the [[White House]], Washington, D.C. (CWF)

: "My idea is to carry the road below the hill under a [[Wall]] about 8 feet high opposite to the center of the [[White House|president's house]]. At this point, I should propose, at a future day to thrown an [[Arch]], or [[Arch]]es over the road in order to procure a private communication between the '''pleasure ground''' of the [[White House|president's house]] and the [[park]] which reaches to the river, and which will probably be also planted, and perhaps be open to the public."

*[[David Ramsay|Ramsay, David]], 1809, describing a private garden in Charleston, S.C. (1858: 129)<ref> David Ramsay, ''Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, from Its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808'', Vol. 2. (Newberry, S.C.: W. J. Duffie 1858), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/U7WGSJWE/q/Ramsay| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Another is in St. Paul's district and was originally formed by [[William Williamson]], but now belongs to [[John Champneys]]. It contains twenty-six acres, six of which are in sheets of water and abound in excellent fish; ten acres in '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and banks; the remainder is used for horticultural and agricultural purposes. The '''pleasure grounds''' are planted with every species of flowering trees, shrubs, and flowers that this and the neighboring States can furnish; and also with similar curious productions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another part contains a great number of fruit trees; especially piccan nut and pear trees, which are ripe in succession from the middle of May to the middle of October."

* [[Charles Willson Peale|Peale, Charles Willson]], c. 1825, describing New York, N.Y. (Miller, Hart, and Ward, eds., 2000: 5:248)<ref> Lillian B. Miller, Sidney Hart, and David C. Ward, eds. ''The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale'', Vol. 5. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/IZAKPCBG/q/peale| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "Walking with Mrs. Peale one evening to take the fresh air at the Battery, in those pleasant gravelly [[walk]]s skirted with Trees. Adjoining to these '''pleasure grounds''' they observed places of entertainment brilliantly lighted up with lamps and to regaile the Ear a variety of Musick."

*[[Frances Milton Trollope|Trollope, Frances Milton]], 1830, describing the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania (1832: 1:276) <ref> Frances Trollope, ''Domestic Manners of the Americans'' 3rd ed. 2 vols. (London: Wittaker, Treacher, 1832), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/T5RXDF7G/q/Trollope| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "but I little expected that the first spot which should recal the [[garden]] scenery of our beautiful England would be found among the mountains: yet so it was. From the time I entered America I had never seen the slightest approach to what we call '''pleasure-grounds'''; a few very worthless and scentless flowers were all the specimens of gardening I had seen in Ohio; no attempt at garden scenery was ever dreamed of, and it was with the sort of delight with which one meets an old friend, that we looked on the lovely mixture of trees, shrubs, and flowers, that now continually met our eyes."

*Anonymous, 1834-35, describing Kentucky (quoted in Schwaab 1973: 266-67) <ref> Eugene L. Schwaab, ''Travels in the Old South'', with the collaboration Jacqueline Bull, (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1973), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VBE4QNV7/q/schwaab| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "The dwellings are all commodious and comfortable, and the most of them very far superior to those usually inhabited by farmers. Many of them are surrounded by gardens and '''pleasure-grounds''', adorned with trees and shrubs in the most tasteful manner; and the eye is continually regaled with a beautiful variety of rural embellishment. There is a something substantial as well as elegant in the residence of a farmer of this part of Kentucky; a combination of taste, neatness, comfort, and abundance, which is singularly interesting, and which evinces a high degree of liberality in the use of wealth, as well as great industry in its production."

* [[Ezekiel Herse Derby|Derby, Ezekiel Hersey]], January 1, 1836, "Cultivation and Management of the Buckthorn (Rhamnus Catharticus) for Live Hedges" (''Horticultural Register'' 2: 28)

: "It is now about thirtytwo years, since I first attempted the formation of a live [[hedge]] as a boundary for my own '''pleasure-grounds'''."

* [[Rev. Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Rev. Nehemiah]], 1838, ''The Boston Common'' ([Adams] 1838: 45) <ref> Nehemiah Adams, ''The Boston Common; or, Rural walks in cities'', (Boston: George W. Light, 1838), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VXTWGJ58/q/Nehemiah| view on Zotero] </ref>
: "And were cities themselves more generally provided with agreeable '''pleasure grounds''', [[walk]]s, and [[garden]]s, and trees, the temptation and the necessity of resorting to the country would be greatly diminished. And while the greater part of those who reside in cities must reside in them throughout the year, they must have their [[garden]]s and their shady [[walk]]s, within the city."

*[[Thomas S. Kirkbride|Kirkbride, Thomas S.]], April 1848, describing the pleasure grounds and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, Philadelphia, Pa. (''American Journal of Insanity'' 4: 347-52)

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s and farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, as shown in the accompanying plan, comprise a tract of one hundred and ten acres of well improved land, lying two miles west of the City of Philadelphia, between the Westchester and Haverford roads, on the latter of which is the only gate of entrance.</p>
: <p>"Of this land, forty-one and three-quarter acres constitute the '''pleasure ground'''s, which surround the Hospital buildings, and are enclosed by a substantial stone wall, of an average height of ten and a half feet. The remaining sixty-nine and one-quarter acres comprise the farm of the Institution. . ..</p>
: <p>"The '''pleasure ground'''s of the two sexes are very effectually separated on the eastern side, by the [[deer-park]], surrounded by a high palisade fence. . . .</p>
[[File:1097.jpg|thumb|Fig. 4, [[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," 1848. This plan shows the “Ladies Pleasure Grounds” to the left and in the center, and the “Gentlemen’s Pleasure Grounds” to the right.]]
: <p>"In the '''pleasure ground'''s of the ladies, is a fine piece of [[wood]]s, from which the farm is overlooked, as well as both of the public roads passing along the premises, and a handsome district of country beyond.</p>
: <p>"The undulating character of the '''pleasure ground'''s throughout, gives them many advantages, and the brick, gravel and tan [[walk]]s for the ladies, are more than a mile in extent. . . .</p>
: <p>"The cultivation of the [[garden]]s and the improvement of the '''pleasure ground'''s, offer the generality of patients the most desirable forms of labour. It is sufficiently varied, not too laborious, and in some division of it many will engage who could not be induced to assist upon the farm or in any other kind of employment, out of doors. . . .</p>
: "If the '''pleasure ground'''s are sufficiently extensive it is desirable that the two sexes would have their portions, entirely distinct, although some parts may be used in common, under the superintendence and direction of the proper officer. Without this arrangement certain classes will be much more restricted in out-door exercise than is proper or desirable." [Fig. 4]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Camac Cottage, near Philadelphia, Pa. ([1849] 1991: 58) <ref name="Downing 1849"> A. J. Downing, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America; with a view to the improvement of country residences. Comprising historical notices and general principles of the art, directions for laying out grounds and arranging plantations, the description and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments to the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc.: with remarks on rural architecture''', 4th ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1849), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/K7BRCDC5/q/Downing| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "The house is a [[picturesque]] cottage, in the rural gothic style, with very charming and appropriate '''pleasure grounds''', comprising many groups and masses of large and finely grown trees, interspersed :with a handsome collection of shrubs and plants; the whole very tastefully arranged."

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Belmont Mansion, estate of Judge William Peters, near Philadelphia, Pa. (pp. 42-43) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>
[[File:0301.jpg|thumb|Fig. 5, [[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808.]]

: "Its proprietor had a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, and his place was also no less remarkable for the design and culture of its '''pleasure-grounds''', than for the excellence of its farm. Long and stately [[avenue]]s, with [[vista]]s terminated by [[obelisk]]s, a garden adorned with marble vases, busts, and statues, and '''pleasure grounds''' filled with the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features here." [Fig. 5]

*[[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, describing Hyde Park, seat of Dr. David Hosack, on the Hudson River, N.Y. (pp. 45-46) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: "But the efforts of art are not unworthy so rare a locality; and while the native [[wood]]s, and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their original state, the '''pleasure-grounds''', roads, [[walk]]s, [[drive]]s, and new [[plantation]]s, have been laid out in such a judicious manner as to heighten the charms of nature."

* Justicia [pseud.], March 1849, "A Visit to Springbrook," seat of Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, Pa. (''Horticulturist'' 3: 411)

: "The elegant mansion is surrounded with a spacious [[lawn]], kept in a masterly style; and the '''pleasure-grounds''' are enclosed by a light iron [[fence]], about half a mile in length, and studded with many varieties of hardy trees, backed by a natural piece of the most majestic [[wood]]s,--giving a fine sylvan character to the place."

* [[C. M. Hovey|Hovey, C. M.]], December 1849, describing Oat-lands, residence of D. F. Manice, Hempstead, N.Y. (''Magazine of Horticulture'' 15: 529)

: "The house is a handsome building, in a kind of castellated gothic, standing about fifty feet from the road, with the [[conservatory]] and [[hothouse]], and [[flower garden]] on the left,--the [[kitchen garden]] and forcing-houses on the right,--and the [[lawn]] and '''pleasure ground''', in the rear of the house, separating it from the [[park]]."

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1850, describing [[Boston Common]], Boston, Mass. (pp. 332-33) <ref> J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1850), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/W8EQFZUG/q/Loudon| view on Zotero] </ref>

: <p>"856. Public Gardens....</p>

: "At Boston there are extensive public '''pleasure-grounds''' called the [[Boston Common|Common]], consisting of seventy-five acres, in the very heart of the city. This piece of ground is well laid out, and contains many fine trees. The state-house, and the handsome houses of the city, surround it on three sides."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], August 1851, "The New-York Park" (''Horticulturist'' 6: 346-47)

: <p>"That because it is needful in civilized life for men to live in cities,--yes, and unfortunately too, for children to be born and educated without a daily sight of the blessed horizon,--it is not, therefore, needful for them to be so miserly as to live utterly divorced from all pleasant and healthful intercourse with [[garden]]s and green fields. He [Mayor Kingsland] informs them that cool umbrageous [[grove]]s have not forsworn themselves within town limits, and that half a million of people have a right to ask for the 'greatest happiness' of [[park]]s and '''pleasure grounds''', as well as for paving stones and gas lights. . . . </p>
: "Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it may be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between 39th-street and the Harlem river, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is yet waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million of dollars. In that area there would be space enough to have broad reaches of [[park]] and '''pleasure-grounds''', with a real feeling of the breadth and beauty of green fields, the perfume and freshness of nature."

=== Citations ===

* [[William Cobbett|Cobbett, William]], 1802, remarks on "Notes Adapting the Rules of the Treatise to the Climates and Seasons of the United States of America," in ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'' (Forsyth 1802: 151)<ref> William Forsyth, ''A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees'', (Philadelphia: J. Morgan, 1802), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/ZSNDFTE9/q/Forsyth| view on Zotero]</ref>

: "To those American gentlemen, who have land to lay out in pleasure grounds, and most of them have land, which might, at a very little expence, be so disposed of, I would beg leave to recommend the perusal, and, indeed, the study, of the late Lord Orford's celebrated work on 'Modern Gardening, and laying out of '''pleasure grounds''', [[park]]s, farms, ridings, &c. &c. illustrated by Descriptions.' This work is a most excellent guide in the study of the higher order of gardening, and very far surpasses what has been written by Gilpin, and, indeed, by all other authors on the subject."

* [[Humphry Repton|Repton, Humphry]], 1803, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 8, 99, 180)<ref>Humphry Repton, ''Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (London: Printed by T. Bensley for J. Taylor, 1803) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VVQPC3BI| view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"The '''pleasure ground''', immediately near the house, is separated from the park by a [[wall]], against which the earth is every where laid as before described, so as to carry the eye over the heads of persons who may be walking in the adjoining foot-path. This wall not only hides them from the house, but also prevents their overlooking the pleasure ground....</p>
: <p>"This line of separation [between the ground exposed to cattle and the ground annexed to the house] being admitted, advantage may be easily taken to ornament the [[lawn]] with flowers and shrubs, and to attach to the mansion that scene of 'embellished neatness,' usually called a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: "I would make the dressed '''pleasure ground''' to the right and left of the house, in [[plantation]]s, which would skreen the unsightly appendages, and form the natural division between the [[park]] and the farm, with [[walk]]s communicating to the garden and the farm."

* <div id="M'Mahon"></div> [[Bernard M'Mahon|M'Mahon, Bernard]], 1806, ''The American Gardener's Calendar'' (pp. 55-56) <ref> Bernard M'Mahon, ''The American Gardener’s Calendar: Adapted to the Climates and Seasons of the United States. Containing a Complete Account of All the Work Necessary to Be Done... for Every Month of the Year....'' (Philadelphia: Printed by B. Graves for the author, 1806) [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/HU4JIS9C/q/m'mahon| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#M'Mahon_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"THE district commonly called the '''Pleasure''', or [[Flower-Garden]], or '''Pleasure-ground''', may be said to comprehend all ornamental compartments, or divisions of ground, surrounding the mansion; consisting of [[lawn]]s, [[plantation]]s of trees and shrubs, flower compartments, [[walk]]s, pieces of water, &c. whether situated wholly within the space generally considered as the '''Pleasure-Garden''', or extended to the adjacent fields, [[park]]s, or other out-grounds.</p>
: <p>"In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern gardening; consulting rural disposition, in imitation of nature; all too formal works being almost abolished, such as long straight [[walk]]s, regular intersections, square grass-plats, corresponding [[parterre]]s, quadrangular and angular spaces, and other uniformities, as in [[Ancient Style|ancient designs]]; instead of which, are now adopted, rural open spaces of grass-ground, of varied forms and dimensions, and winding walks, all bounded with [[plantation]]s of trees, shrubs, and flowers, in various clumps; other compartments are exhibited in a variety of imitative rural forms; such as curves, projections, openings, and closings, in imitation of a natural assemblage; having all the various [[plantation]]s and [[border]]s, open to the [[walk]]s and [[lawn]]s. . . .</p>
: "In designs for a '''Pleasure-ground''', according to modern taste, a tract of ground of any considerable extent, may have the prospect varied and diversified exceedingly, in a beautiful representation of art and nature, as that in passing from one compartment to another, still new varieties present themselves, in the most agreeable manner; and even if the figure of the ground is irregular, and the surface has many inequalities, the whole may be improved without any great trouble of squaring or levelling; for by humouring the natural form, you may cause even the very irregularities and natural deformities, to carry along with them an air of diversity and novelty, which fail not to please and entertain most observers."

* <div id="Abercrombie"></div>[[John Abercrombie|Abercrombie, John]], with [[James Mean]], 1817, ''Abercrombie's Practical Gardener'' (pp. 337-38, 453, 460) <ref> John Abercrombie, ''Abercrombie’s practical gardener or, Improved system of modern horticulture'', with additions by James Mean, (London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1817), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/TH54TADZ/q/Abercrombie's| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#Abercrombie_cite|back up to history]]

: <p>"The lines of distinction between the [[Flower Garden]], the [[Shrubbery]], and the '''Pleasure Ground''', can neither be positively marked, nor constantly observed, in treating the subjects which may seem to fall under one of these heads more properly than under either of the others.</p>
: <p>"The flowering shrubs connect the two former. For instance, can there be such an exact partition between the [[Flower Garden]] and the [[Shrubbery]], as would destroy their communication, while the plant which bears the beautiful rose belongs, in a catalogue of names, to the latter department? Or can we prevent the '''Pleasure Ground''' from running into the [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]], so as scarcely to know where one begins and the other ends, as long as a '''Pleasure Ground''', with the most happy diversity of [[lawn]]s, [[wood]], and water, would be incomplete without flowers and shrubs?</p>
: <p>"The substantial difference between the two former [ [[Flower Garden]] and [[Shrubbery]]], lies in the proportion in which the two classes of plants are cultivated: hence, where a great preponderance of plants without woody stems display their bloom, the characteristics of a [[Flower Garden]] seem obvious enough: if another spot is almost covered with clumps of shrubs, and merely dotted with a few creeping flowers, it will be termed, without hesitation, a [[Shrubbery]].</p>
: <p>"The most essential point of separation between a [[Flower Garden]] and a '''Pleasure Ground''' seems to turn on the extent of the place. To cover twenty acres with mere flowering plants, producing nothing esculent in the root, leaves, or fruit, would be puerile and ridiculous, as it would exceed the moderation with which nature scatters her ornaments; hence as the surface to be dressed, even for pleasure, widens, plots of grass are interposed, clumps of shrubs, and other circumstances of relief; and if the limits of the ground are yet farther removed, pastured lawns and [[grove]]s of timber show that utility and beauty of effect may harmonize. On the other hand, if a circumscribed [[garden]] were so occupied by mown grass as to leave but a few feet for the florist, it would not be a '''Pleasure Ground'''....</p>
: <p>"A '''PLEASURE GROUND''' is an extensive garden laid out in a liberal taste, and embellished after nature. At the sight of such a garden, fortunately placed and judiciously improved, in which the cultivator has availed himself of every advantage which the immediate site and surrounding landscape presents, almost every mind concurs in associating the idea of a garden with a seat of happiness. When the romantic illusions of a first view are dissolved, to enjoy the beauties of such a place is one of the purest gratifications. ...</p>
: "While the [[Kitchen Garden]] is concealed by buildings or plantations, the [[Flower Garden]] and '''Pleasure Ground''' should stand conspicuously attached to the family-residence."
[[File:1371.jpg|thumb|Fig. 6, [[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, 1826.]]

* [[J. C. Loudon|Loudon, J. C.]], 1826, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (pp. 451, 1021) <ref name="Loudon_1826">J. C. (John Claudius) Loudon, ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening; Comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape-Gardening'', 4th ed. (London: Longman et al, 1826), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/KNKTCA4W view on Zotero]</ref>

: <p>"2355. To unite the agreeable with the useful is an object common to all the departments of gardening. The [[kitchen-garden]], the [[orchard]], the [[nursery]], and the [[forest]], are all intended as scenes of recreation and visual enjoyment, as well as of useful culture; and enjoyment is the avowed object of the [[flower-garden]], [[shrubbery]], and '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: "7264. The '''pleasure-ground''' is a term applied generally to the kept ground and [[walk]]s of a residence. Sometimes the [[walk]] merely passes, in a winding direction, through glades and groups of common scenery, kept polished by the scythe, and from whence cattle, &c. are excluded. At other times it includes a part of, or all the scenes above mentioned; and may include several others, as verdant amphitheaters, [[labyrinth]]s . . . a Linnaean, Jussieuean, American, French, or Dutch [[flower-garden]], a garden of native, rock, mountain, or aquatic plants, [[picturesque]] [[flower-garden]], or a Chinese garden, exhibiting only plants in flower, inserted in the ground, and removed to make room for others when the blossom begins to fade, &c." [Fig. 6]
[[File:0935.jpg|thumb|Fig. 7, [[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden,", and Pleasure Ground, 1841.]]

* Webster, Noah, 1828, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' (n.p.) <ref>Noah Webster, ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', (New York: S. Converse, 1828), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/N7BSU467| view on Zotero] </ref>

: "'''PLEAS'URE-GROUND''', n. Ground laid out in an ornamental manner and appropriated to pleasure or amusement. ''Graves''."

* [[Alexander Walsh|Walsh, Alexander]], 31 March 1841, "Remarks on Ornamental Gardening" (''New England Farmer'' 19: 308)
: "The garden and '''pleasure ground''' I would describe, is of an oblong form, 165 feet by 120 feet, with one end next the north side of the house, (fig. 1.) A [[walk]] 5 feet in width, A A, of a semi-elliptical form, passes from north hall door to the principal rear building on the west, extending in its course to the north 60 ft.; a walk of 5 ft. in width extends through the centre from south to north, 159 ft. A A, and is crossed at right angles by another of the same width 47 feet from the north edge of the elipsis; walks of 4 ft. width C C C C, surround the four squares. The walks graveled; formed rising at the centre to the height of the beds, with a descent each side, of an inch and a half to the [[border]], which [[border]] is composed of bricks laid edgewise, the outer side flush with the soil, the inner side an inch and a half above the lowest part of the walk. H and I two mounds 12 inches diameter, 3 feet 6 inches high, enclosed by octagons, leaving a walk 4 feet in the narrowest part, with openings of 6 feet to the centre [[walk]] and elipsis; the mounds enclosed with brick, placed endwise, inclining to the centre, and sunk 3 inches in the ground; the enclosure filled with soil; each mound has growing in its centre an evergreen tree. H covered with evergreen periwinkle, ''Vica minor'', and I covered with variegated periwinkle, ''Vica minor fl. alba''." [Fig. 7]

*<div id="JaneLoudon"></div>[[Jane Loudon|Loudon, Jane]], 1843, ''Gardening for Ladies'' (pp. 239-240) <ref> Jane Loudon, ''Gardening for Ladies; and Companion to the Flower-Garden'', ed. A.J. Downing, (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1843), [//www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/VJ3SM523/q/Gardening%20for%20Ladies| view on Zotero] </ref>[[#JaneLoudon_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is that portion of a country residence which is devoted to ornamental purposes, in contradistinction to those parts which are exclusively devoted to utility or profit, such as the [[kitchen-garden]], the farm, and the [[park]]. In former times, when the [[geometrical style]] of laying out grounds prevailed, a '''pleasure-ground''' consisted of terrace-[[walk]]s, a [[bowling-green]], a [[labyrinth]], a bosquet, a small [[wood]], a shady [[walk]] commonly of nut-trees, but sometimes a shady [[avenue]], with ponds of water, [[fountain]]s, [[statue]]s, &c. In modern times the '''pleasure-ground''' consists chiefly of a [[lawn]] of smoothly-shaven turf, interspersed with beds of flowers, groups of shrubs, scattered trees, and, according to circumstances, with a part or the whole of the scenes and objects which belong to a '''pleasure-ground''' in the [[ancient style]]. The main portion of the '''pleasure-ground''' is always placed on that side of the house to which the drawing-room windows open; and it extends in front and to the right and left more or less, according to the extent of the place; the [[park]], or that part devoted exclusively to pasture and scattered trees, being always on the entrance front. There is no limit to the extent either of the '''pleasure-ground''' or the [[park]], and no necessary connection between the size of the house and the size of the '''pleasure-ground'''. . . . In small places of an acre or two, the most interesting objects which may be introduced in a '''pleasure-ground''', are collections of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, which may always be arranged to combine as much [[picturesque]] beauty and general effect as if there were only the few kinds of trees and shrubs planted which were formerly in use in such scenes."

* <div id="Johnson"></div>[[George William Johnson|Johnson, George William]], 1847, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'' (p. 465) <ref>George William Johnson, ''A Dictionary of Modern Gardening'', ed. by David Landreth (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1847), [https://www.zotero.org/groups/54737/items/itemKey/D6PQSNAN/q/johnson| view on Zotero]</ref>[[#Johnson_cite|back up to history]]

: "'''PLEASURE-GROUND''' is a collective name for that combination of [[parterre]]s, [[lawn]]s, [[shubbery|shrubberies]], waters, [[arbour]]s, &c. which are noticed individually in these pages. One observation may be applied to all--let congruity preside over the whole. It is a great fault to have any one of those portions of the '''pleasure ground''' in excess; and let the whole be proportioned to the residence. It is quite as objectionable to be over-gardened as to be over-housed. Above all things eschew what has aptly been termed gingerbread-work. Nothing offends a person of good taste so much as the divisions and sub-divisions we are sometimes compelled to gaze on 'with an approving smile.'"

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], October 1848, "A Talk About Public Parks and Gardens" (''Horticulturist'' 3: 156)

: "Make the public [[park]]s or '''pleasure grounds''' attractive by their [[lawn]]s, fine trees, shady [[walk]]s and beautiful shrubs and flowers, by fine music, and the certainty of 'meeting everybody,' and you draw the whole moving population of the town there daily."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], 1849, ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (pp. 34, 82, 88) <ref name="Downing 1849"></ref>

: <p>"Previous artists had confined their efforts within the rigid [[wall]]s of the garden, but [William] Kent, who saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the [[wall]]s, introduced the [[ha-ha]], and by blending the [[park]] and the garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, the freedom of the '''pleasure-ground'''....</p>
: <p>"In '''pleasure-grounds''', while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. . . .</p>
: "while, in a more elevated and enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them [trees] in our '''pleasure-grounds''' and [[parks]], around our houses, in all the variety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general nature."

* [[A. J. Downing|Downing, A. J.]], June 1850, "Our Country Villages" (''Horticulturist'' 4: 540)

: "After such a village was built, and the central [[park]] planted a few years, the inhabitants would not be contented with the mere [[meadow]] and trees, usually called a [[park]] in this country. By submitting to a small annual tax per family, they could turn the whole [[park]], if small, or considerable portions, here and there, if large, into '''pleasure-grounds'''. In the latter, there would be collected, by the combined means of the village, all the rare, hardy shrubs, trees and plants usually found in the private grounds of any amateur in America. Beds and masses of everblooming roses, sweet-scented climbers and the richest shrubs would thus be open to the enjoyment of all during the whole growing season. Those who had neither the means, time, nor inclination to devote to the culture of private '''pleasure-grounds''', could thus enjoy those which belonged to all. Others might prefer to devote their own garden to fruits and vegetables, since the '''pleasure-grounds''', which belonged to all, and which all would enjoy, would, by their greater breadth and magnitude, offer beauties and enjoyments which few private gardens can give."

== Images ==
=== Inscribed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0973.jpg|[[Pierre Pharoux]], "Plan of Tivoli Laid Out into Town Lots" [detail], N.Y., 1795. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed on the left of the plan.
File:1371.jpg|[[J.C. Loudon]], Plan of a pleasure-ground with labyrinth, in ''An Encyclopaedia of Gardening'' (1826), p. 1021, fig. 719.
File:0935.jpg|[[Alexander Walsh]], "Plan of a Garden," and Pleasure Ground, in ''New England Farmer'' 19, no. 39 (Mar. 31, 1841):p. 308
File:1097.jpg|[[Thomas S. Sinclair]], "Plan of the Pleasure Grounds and Farm of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane at Philadelphia," in Thomas S. Kirkbride, ''American Journal of Insanity'' 4 (April 1848): n.p.
File:1967.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." 1851. See copy.
File:0023.jpg|[[A.J. Downing]], N. Michler (copied by), "Plan Showing Proposed Method of Laying Out the Public Grounds at Washington." Manuscript copy of Andrew Jackson Downing's plan for the Mall of 1851, 1867. "Smithsonian Pleasure Grounds" is inscribed bellow "Smithsonian Institution".
File:0378.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Suburban Villa Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 118, fig. 26. "Pleasure ground" is inscribed as b.

</gallery>

=== Associated ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>

File:0153.jpg|[[John Drayton]], ''A View of the Battery and Harbour of New York, and the Ambuscade Frigate'', 1794.
File:0099.jpg|[[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]], Sketch plan for landscaping the grounds of the [[White House|President's House]], c.1802-1805.
File:0304.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "Woodlands, the Seat of Mr. Wm. Hamilton, Pennsylva.," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 69, pl. 14.
File:0301.jpg|[[William Russell Birch]], "View from Belmont Pennsyla. the Seat of Judge Peters," 1808, in [[William Russell Birch]] and [[Emily Cooperman]], ''The Country Seats of the United States'' (2009), p. 73, pl. 16.
File:1176.jpg|[[Eliza Susan Quincy]], "View of the seat of Edmund Quincy Esqr.," 1822.
File:1101.jpg|Anonymous, "Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane" in ''American Magazine for Useful and Entertaining Knowledge'' 1, no. 1 (Sept. 1834): p. 6
File:0849.jpg|[[Alexander Jackson Davis]], "View in Grounds at Blithewood, Seat of Robt. Donaldson, Dutchess Co. Hud[son] riv[er]. N.Y." 1840.
File:0355.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds at [[Hyde Park]]" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 45, fig. 1.
File:0360.jpg|Anonymous, "Kenwood, Residence of J. Rathbone, Esq. near Albany, N.Y." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 50, fig. 9.
File:0364.jpg|Anonymous, "Belmont Place, near Boston, the seat of J. P. Cushing, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp p. 54, fig. 10.
File:0365.jpg|Anonymous, "Mr. Dunn's Cottage, Mount Holly, N. J." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 54, fig. 11.
File:0367.jpg|Anonymous, "View in the Grounds of James Arnold, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. opp. p. 57; and text p. 57.
File:0368.jpg|Anonymous, "The Seat of George Sheaff, Esq." in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), pl. between pp. 58 and 59, fig. 12.
File:0369.jpg|Anonymous, "Mrs. Camac's Residence" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 58, fig. 13.
File:0376.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of the foregoing grounds as a Country Seat, after ten years' improvement," in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 114, fig. 24.
File:0377.jpg|Anonymous, "Plan of a Mansion Residence, laid out in the natural style" in [[A. J. Downing]], ''A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening'' (1849), p. 115, fig. 25.

</gallery>

=== Attributed ===
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="7">
<gallery>
File:0464.jpg|[[Nicolino Calyo]], ''Harlem, the Country House of Dr. Edmondson'', 1834.
File:0557.jpg|Sarony & Major, ''Iranistan, an Oriental Ville'', 1850.
</gallery>

==Notes==

<references></references>

[[Category: Keywords]]