In 1874, H. Louis Duhring was born into a humble, Philadelphia family. Though money was tight,
he aspired for greatness. His whole life, he dreamed of pursuing architecture as a career,
but studying in Europe was not something his family could afford.
All through his school years, he worked in the office of an architect, learning on the job,
then, when he was 23 years old, he applied for and was awarded a scholarship which allowed him
to travel to Europe and study architecture at some of the best schools in the world. When he returned
state-side, he partnered with a handful of Philadelphia architects to form the architectural
firm of Duhring, Okie, and Ziegler, though he would eventually branch off to form his own firm.
Even though he had a late start to his career, his passion was evident in his designs. Between 1910
and 1930 he designed over 180 custom homes for wealthy patrons in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill.
During a 1926 exposition, a replica of George Washington’s ancestral home,
known as Sulgrave Manor, was displayed for the public to see.
Louis became obsessed by the attention to detail in the replica, and when the exposition was over,
he convinced his primary patron, George Woodward to purchase the interiors,
and have him carefully mark every piece, and then reassemble the rooms inside of his own home.
His flawless reconfiguration of the display caught the attention of other, extremely wealthy clients
who hired him to disassemble and reassemble entire English manor houses in the United States.
In 1928, Frederick Nolting purchased a grand Georgian Mansion known as Rocky Mills.
It had been built in Hanover County, Virginia and had stood proud on its heritage site since 1750.
Louis painstakingly labeled every piece of the house and had it carefully disassembled
and reassembled in Henrico County, Virginia. But he made a few changes along the way. The
house had originally been built without closets, bathrooms, nor any space for utilities to be ran.
Without altering the front and back facades, he was able to expand the space between a few walls
to include said modern amenities. The finished product was seamless. Had you not known that a
central spine had been added to the house plan, there were no gaps in the millwork,
nor the artisan plaster to suggest that anything had ever changed.
To enter the home, we will pass through a double door encased
in stone quoins to arrive in the entrance hall.
To either side of the entrance hall, are elaborate door surrounds true to the Georgian style.
All of the original millwork would have been grooved by rudimentary,
hand held tools without the aid of modern machines.
Passing through the elaborately paneled archway, we will find the stair hall in the
back of the house, gracefully ascending with a gentle rise from the back door.
In the dining room, when we see the thoughtfully proportioned and classically
planned architectural elements in harmony with the home’s scale, we can truly understand why
Louis devoted so much effort in ensuring the house was put back together properly
Each room, while styled differently, flowed with the next, whether the millwork was
painted or left in its natural state to boast the warmth of old growth wood grain.
Upstairs, at the second floor stair landing, a hall extends back towards
the front of the house below an incredibly grand archway, something which was uncommon
for the time period as guests would not have traveled to the private rooms of the house.
The hall centers on a Palladian window allowing natural light to flood the second
floor hall greeting the residents every morning with perfect design.
The bedrooms, while simple, were clad in painted wall panels and decorated sparsely
to allow the architecture to make a statement with minimal interruption.
Thankfully, the home went on to be enjoyed by many subsequent owners
and has retained much of its original detailing with very few modifications.
If money were not an issue, do you think you would enjoy putting a house like this back
together? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments section. And while you’re there,
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