Print Size: 24" x 30" (Frame Size: 24" x 30")
The sturdy timber framed houses of colonial New England were straightforward structures with little exterior ornamentation, yet the interiors of better houses might well contain decorative woodwork. Like boat building in the seaport town of Marblehead, stair building was the high point of the carpenter’s art, even in early houses like the Waters House of 1683. Here the small central stair hall stands between the front door and the central hearth and rises in a series of turns to the floors above. Wood paneled wainscoting helped to make the hall a showpiece as did the stair elements themselves – molded railings, heavy newel posts and elegant balusters, expertly turned on a lathe, are the pinnacle of the wood carver’s art. The detailed drawings produced by the WPA are largely all that remain of the house as it was demolished in 1937.
