Father Pitt

Tag: Hodgkins (H. G.)

  • Hampton Hall, Oakland

    Hampton Hall from the front

    According to a city architectural inventory (PDF), Hampton Hall was built in 1928, and the architect was H. G. Hodgkins, who seems to have been based in Chicago, to judge by listings in Chicago trade magazines that show up in a Google Books search. Addendum: Hodgkins was also the architect of the 1914 King Edward Apartments, with their whimsical decorative reliefs. He seems to have specialized in apartment buildings that gave their residents a sense of fantasy Merrie England.

    The interior includes quite a bit of Nemadji tile, and old Pa Pitt had never heard of Nemadji tile until he found this page on Hampton Hall from a site of Historic U. S. Tile Installations. The exterior is fairy-tale Tudor, designed to make apartment dwellers feel as though they were great lords of Queen Elizabeth’s time.

    A bear

    The entrance is flanked by bears holding shields, as bears are wont to do.

    An equal and opposite bear
    Inscription
    Ornament
    Ornament
    Ornament
    Ornament and tile
    Oblique view

  • Old King Edward and His Jesters

    Jester face

    There are two apartment buildings called King Edward in Oakland (plus a small “annex” on Melwood Avenue). The more visible one, the King Edward Apartments on Craig Street at Bayard, was built in 1929. The original King Edward, built in 1914, is behind on Melwood Avenue at Bayard Street. It seems much more staid than its larger neighbor, until we look closer and discover that it is festooned with these grotesque faces.

    Grotesque face
    Bayard Street side
    Another face
    Row of faces
    Yet another
    No faces
    Melwood Avenue front

    Addendum: The architect was H. G. Hodgkins, who also designed Hampton Hall, another Merrie England fantasy.