The Anthony Walke House

Photos of the east (front) elevation in two seasons and two focal lengths show the overall recent appearance of the house until 2005. Additions were attached to the two sides and the rear in varying degrees of sensitivity.

To the left is the house in 1992, and to the right, 2000.

Atop the roof is a "Lantern," which was probably added about 1890 to provide light into the attic stairway and down to the Entry Hall.

The portico is the main diagnostic feature of this house's style, the Early Classical Revival.

The portico gable has some wonderful carpentry in the frieze and mouldings.

However, the the square super-capitals atop the round Tuscan column's capitals is an absurd faux-pas. Perhaps the columns ended up being shorter than needed, and the builder ad-libbed to fill the gap.

The facade windows are far fancier than the ordinary double-hung single windows. The main floor (or first floor) has Venetian windows (commonly called "Palladian windows") that originally had double-hinged blinds to cover all parts of the tripartite window ensemble. Yes, even the sidelights have double-hung sashes.

Even the ground floor (or basement) windows are special, each being a tripartite window ensemble, continuing the tripartite patterns above in the Venetian windows. These also had double-hinged blinds to cover them.

In 2004 I helped arrange a tour of the house, which was under new ownership and facing immenent...restoration!

These are candlelit still shots of my three-dimensional rendering of the house as originally built. (I'm working on how to let you see and manipulate the 3-D image itself...If you have a Macintosh, you can drag the 3D metafiles into Scrapbook or SimpleText and manipulate them there.)

Both are different views of the same image; the original is a 3D image made in DesignWorkshop, and then rendered as a 3D metafile with textures.

This little ditty is a 3D sketch of the fireplace mantel of the main floor southeast room - probably the original parlor. Again, I offer it as a 3D image made in DesignWorkshop, and as a 3D metafile.

Historic Views

One of two identical paintings show the house in its original landscape (with barns) from its driveway at the edge of town. I've dated this image to about 1830.

Paintings on display at Ross County Historical Society, Chillicothe, Ohio. Digital photo of painting by permission of society.

A bird's-eye-view map of 1889 gives a glimpse of the house as the town grows out to it.

A famous local artist of the turn-of-the century Chillicothe inked the house at the time of the city's centennial in 1896. John Bennet dated this June 4th of that year. Original print on file at Ross County Historical Society, Chillicothe, Ohio.

A few years later, possibly at the time of the state's centennial in 1903, was this photo taken. Original photo on file at Ross County Historical Society, Chillicothe, Ohio. Digital scan by permission of society.

This c1925 photo was taken probably just after the additions and renovations were finished for the conversion of the house into an orphanage. Original photo on file at Ross County Historical Society, Chillicothe, Ohio. Xerograph by permission of society.

This c1940 photo shows the facility a little weathered and with a new (and ugly) addition on the right edge. Original photo on file at Ross County Historical Society, Chillicothe, Ohio(?). Xerograph by permission of society.