CARR-458

B.F. Crouse House, (Harlow House)

Architectural Survey File

This is the architectural survey file for this MIHP record. The survey file is organized reverse-

chronological (that is, with the latest material on top). It contains all MIHP inventory forms, National

Register nomination forms, determinations of eligibility (DOE) forms, and accompanying documentation

such as photographs and maps.

Users should be aware that additional undigitized material about this property may be found in on-site

architectural reports, copies of HABS/HAER or other documentation, drawings, and the “vertical files” at

the MHT Library in Crownsville. The vertical files may include newspaper clippings, field notes, draft

versions of forms and architectural reports, photographs, maps, and drawings. Researchers who need a

thorough understanding of this property should plan to visit the MHT Library as part of their research

project; look at the MHT web site (mht.maryland.gov) for details about how to make an appointment.

All material is property of the Maryland Historical Trust.

Last Updated: 04-16-2004

g. F. CP.f'll.'SE Hnl 'SE

Pli ~ is one of the man.v houses of Westminster's He st End 1-iui 1 t hv, or at least associated with, the Crouse familv. The house is an interest­ina combination of reaularity and chaos: its nrincinal facade is a full 1 stories tall and 1 !"-~~s \'tide', anr. its 1-iasic shane is a standard L. Yet some­time in t'le late-''ictorian era a large bav \IJind01·1ed s~ction • .. •ac; stud in t~P onen snace of the L oivino the annearance of a shin run aoround. Further, and nerhans 1"10re interesting, is the hewed railino of the norch that enl'lraps the southeast corner of the house, a railing that resembles a rih caae, and t'ien makes marvelous liaht-shadE', solid-void rhvt'ims as one 1·1alks bv it and hv the white aluminum sidinq covered house.

MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST

INVENTORY FORM FOR STATE HISTORIC SITES SURVEY

UNAME HISTORIC

B. F. Crouse House AND/OR COMMON

Harl ow House

llLOCATION STREET & NUMBER

152 West Main Street (MD 32) CITY, rowN

Westminster VICINITY OF

STATE

~arvland

DcLASSIFICA TION

CATEGORY

_DISTRICT

.llBUILDINGIS)

_STRUCTURE

_SITE

_OBJECT

OWNERSHIP STATUS _PUBLIC .XocCUPIED

LPRIVATE _UNOCCUPIED

_BOTH _WORK IN PROGRESS

PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE _IN PROCESS _x YES RESTRICTED

_BEING CONSIDERED _YES UNRESTRICTED

_NO

DOWNER OF PROPERTY NAME

Gene Harlow Barre STREET & NUMBER

152 West Main Street CITY. TOWN

Westminster _ v1c1N1TY oF

llLOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC Carroll Countv Office Buildino STREET & NUMBER

Center Street CITY, TOWN

Westminster l!REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS

TITLE

None DATE

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

7 COUNTY

Carroll

PRESENT USE

_AGRICULTURE _MUSEUM

_COMMERCIAL __ PA:lK

_EDUCATIONAL XPRIVATE RESiDE:NCE

_ENTERTAINMENT _RELIGIOUS

__ GOVERNMENT _SCIENTIFIC

_INDUSTRIAL

_MILITARY

Telephone#:

_ TRANSPORTATIO'<

_OTHER

STATE I zip code Maryl and ?J 157

Liber #: 4,:;o Folio #: 507

STATE

Maryl and

_FEDERAL -5TATE _COUNTY _LOCAL

DEPOSITORY FOR

SURVEY RECORDS

CITY. TOWN STATE

B DESCRIPTION

_xEXCELLENT

_GOOD

_FAIR

CONDITION

_DETERIORATED

_RUINS

_ UNEXPOSED

CHECK ONE

.-!.'\J NALTERED

_ALTERED

CHECK ONE

~ORIGINAL SITE

_MOVED DATE. __ _

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Number 152 West Main Street is located on the north side of that thoroughfare (St. Route 32) about ~n· west of its intersection with Maryland Avenue in Westminster. Although the house is of extremely irregular nlan, tl·!n of its facades are fairlv calm. P1ese -facades con­sist of the visible sections of 2 rernendicular oieces of the ~ouse. The front section is a 3-storv, 3-~av sinale oile; the other is similar, but is 3 bays long, not wide. The entrance facade of the orincipal section consists of a western oround story entrance door ('1alf two-oaneled wood, half olass belo1·1 a smaller rectanqular transom, and within an enframel"'lent consisting of smooth oil asters, a two-nart denti­culated entablature, and extremely elaboratelv scrolled nelleted brackets). There arP 8 double-hunq sash 2/~ windows on this facade (2 on the around floor, 3 each on the other stories). Wind0\·1s have Hhite wooden sills, and are simolv enframed between tl-ieir black louvered shutters. The section is sheathed in t·!hite aluminum sidinq, and is tanned bv a simole denticulated cornice, ~hich is sunoorted by pairs of scroll brackets which are nlaced alternately with the windows. The cornice extends about :'' around the corner of the west facade (which is blind except for a small t1-10-liqht attic window within the qable) and across the entire section's east facade This facade is also blind, but has "cornice" trim all around the aable creatinq a oediment below a central inside brick chimnev. Besides the oedimenied gable, the east facade is further enlivened by a porch in the snace created by the \'tall of the east facade and the nrotrudina bay of the rear section. ThP flat roof of the norch is sunnorted ~Y turned columns v1hich have a rm·1 of soindels struna between them. More interestino is the bowed railinq, a railinq that resembles a rib cage, and that makes marvelous liaht-shade, solid-void rhythms as one walks by it.

The oriainal section of the north oiece of thP huildinq has three -2/2 windm·1s on both floors of its Nest facade, and four 2/2 ·dndows in the northern half of its east facade's uoner floor. The southern half of the east facade has another oable-roofed section stuck neroendicularlv over it, oiving t'1e buildina an aoriearance consistina of two narallel houses. This section extends a few feet further east of the ~~a in Street section; t'°lis nrotuberance has one 2/2 '"indow on its second floor (above the already discussed norch) and a half-wood and half-qlass door leading to the oorch. The east front of the extension has a t1:10-story, 3-sided bay windO'-'! across its entirety; F. windows on this bay v1indow are all 2/2 oaned, and have similar enframements to the other windows on the building ~ut are lackino shutters. The aable of the section is blind ~nd has very simole eaves. ,The north front of the huildina, of the oriainal extension across the rest of the facade. This rnav have once been a two-tier norch, (the ground floor sti 11 is a porch) but the second floor nov1 has thrPP 2/2 windm·1s evenly soaced across it.

CONTINUE ON SEPARATE SHEET IF NECESSARY

l!J SIGNIFICANCE

'ERIOD

_PREHISTORIC

_1400-1499

_1500-1599

_1600-1699

_1700-1799

X1soo-1s99

_1900-

AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW

__ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC _COMMUNITY PLANNING _LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

--ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC _CONSERVATION _LAW

--AGRICULTURE _ECONOMICS _LITERATURE v ~RCHITECTURE _EDUCATION _MILITARY

__ART _ENGINEERING _MUSIC

_COMMERCE _EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT _PHILOSOPHY

_COMMUNICATIONS _INDUSTRY _POLITICS/GOVERNMENT

_INVENTION

_RELIGION

_SCIENCE

_SCULPTURE

_SOCIAUHUMANITARIAN

_THEATER

_TRANSPORTATION

_OTHER !SPECIFY)

SPECIFIC DATES BUILDER/ ARCHITECT

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

This is one of the manv Hest End houses built by, or at least associated i·lith, the Crouse family, and, like the others, its nrifllary significance is archit~ctural. Althouah th~ house is basically comoosed of the usual two, oernendicular, 9a!Jled-roof sections, there are a varictv of variations about tfie nlace. Althouah the hav-~indo~~d section may qive the anoearance of a shio run aground, it aives an undeniable interest to the east facade of the wall, and to the overall floor olan. !l.lso notahle is the east facade's oedimented gable; most oables have ornamentation alonq the roof line, but few in Hestminster coml)lete the trianole. But for all this, undoubtedlv the house's main attraction is its southeastern oorch. The relationshio between straiaht and curved lines is a delicate one in the Citv, curves ~einq rare and non!!allv con­sistinq of bo1·1ed fronts of \·1hole buildinas (such as the rm-1 11°-lll'l~-121 West :~ain Street), and a seoarate, unnecessarv curve, such as this norch, is a raritv. ~'1oreover, the curve is double, in that the norch itself is rounded, and the "rih-caqe" ballisters have bowed bases. These ~ends are nleasant in themselves, and also form agreea~le introduction to the bowed front of the building's neiqhbor, 148-15'1 \-'est Main Street.

Ira Crouse acaui red t 1.·10 adjacent lots in the City~ one from David Geiman for 5300 on Aoril 30, 1844 (Carroll County Deed Book 3, Paqe 2?n) and another, our nrooerty, from Tfiomas Shena rd on ~Tarch 28, 1853 for 535n (15/35). His heirs sold both lots to Benjamin F. Crouse, another heir, for ct;4nn,0 on ~la v 12, l R88 ( ~8/15); the house left the f ami l v on Columbus Day 1'111 v1hen Ira E. Crouse sold to David M.. Younq for S3Pnn {1?"/:''13). Younq tlien sold to Rief.Jard ~. l-larlow and his wife, ~laivette, on Seotember 20, 1°30 (154/3Ql). Pichard died on April 25, 1962, and his Hidow sold to the oresent owner, G. Harlow Rarre, on ·~a" 2n, 107n,

CONTINUE ON SEPARATE SHEET IF NECESSARY

IJMAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

CONTINUE ON SE~ARATE SHEET IF NECESSAR.Y

IIiJGEOGRAPHICAL DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY--------

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION

Being all of lot no. 2 of B. S. Piqman's A.ddition to the City of Westminster as shown on an 1877 nlat of the City.

LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES

STATE COUNTY

STATE COUNTY

mFORM PREPARED BY NAME I TITLE

Christooher Weeks, Consultant ORGANIZATION

Westminster Historical Sites Survey STREET & NUMBER

c/o Cj ty Ha JJ - Public Works Denartment CITY OR TOWN

~Jestminster

l\nrj l DATE

TELEPHONE

STl\TE

r'1aryl and

The Maryland Historic Sites Inventory was officially created by an Act of the Maryland Legislature, to be found in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 41, Section 181 KA, 1974 Supplement.

The Survey and Inventory are being prepared for information and record purposes only and do not constitute any infringe­ment of individual property rights.

RETURN TO: Maryland Historical Trust The Shaw House, 21 State Circle Annapolis, Maryland 21401 (301) 267-1438

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