Drawings from…The Past.
The Mouse family owned the Cross House from 1929 to 1960.
The granddaughters of Scott Mouse, Sr. have been frequent guests since I purchased the house in 2014, and I always enjoy spending time with Lindy and Merryl.
A few weeks ago, Merryl sent me a MOST tantalizing email.
She had a framed copy of the architect’s original drawing of the main facade of the house. Would I be interested in having it?
I replied: YES!!!!!!!!
Today, Merryl and Lindy stopped by. With the drawing.
I was quite agog.
Drawing #1. I have never seen this before! WOW! The drawing enlarges if you click on it. And, no, that is not an orb. That is the reflection of the camera flash on the glass. (Courtesy Mouse Family archives.)
I have an incomplete set of drawings. #1 was one of the missing drawings. To have it find its way back to the house is quite amazing.
Neither Merryl or Lindy recalled any history on the drawing. Merryl was surprised to even discover it.
In studying the drawing, several interesting aspects are revealed.
The front doors. The door on the right is kinda like what was actually installed. The drawing shows a large upper panel infilled with small beveled glass squares. In actuality, the edges are small beveled squares, but the center is one beveled panel. The door on the left is a design which was never installed.
The main dormer shows little brackets along its lower edges. These do not appear to have ever been installed. Below the dormer is the triple-arched windows. The fancy trim was never installed. Poo.
The windows on the second-floor of the turret were to have wood panels to each side. These were never built, and the turret was mostly shingled.
There is a large curved window on the first-floor of the turret. It was to have a stained-glass transom above, and a very curious thin glass panel at the bottom. The latter was never installed.
It’s SO exciting having this important drawing return to the Cross House.
THANK YOU Merryl and Lindy!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
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Am I wrong, or after all that road tripping are you still missing the center finial? My addled brain doesn’t recall if it’s been mentioned in the past…
That is part of the lost roof cresting. I did a post on it.
I didn’t suppose there was any way you could have missed such a thing!
What a special thing to have! I hope you have a nice big frame to put this in for posterity.
Nothing like a little Christmas in July! Considering the Cross House’ prominent place in Emporia, I wonder how many other pictures, mementos, original décor, etc. there might be just sitting in someone’s closet. We received a painting of our house a few years ago from a stranger that stopped one day; her grandparents lived in our house in the 60s, and when they sold it in the mid-70s, someone in the family had painted a large water-color painting of the house as a memento. This lady was retiring and downsizing, and thought we might want it…
Does this rendering not depict the north side porch? Or is it not visible from this viewpoint in actuality? Most curious!
The turret hides the north porch (looking from the west).
Is that foundation details on the left side? Doesn’t look basement deep, would it just be the porch foundation?
Yes, that is a top-to-bottom wall section to the left. The basement has an 8-foor, 4-inch-high ceiling. And a fabulous basement it be!
Once again, those drawings you have are incredible!
I am SO grateful to have them!
Could it be that the plain door on the left was a design for screen doors?
Screen doors were installed but they did not look like the drawing.