AKA: Kirkwood, Edith, House, Saratoga, CA
Structure Type: built works - dwellings - houses
Designers: Polk, Willis, and Company (firm); Willis Jefferson Polk (architect); Bruce Porter (designer)
Dates: constructed 1917
2 stories
Willis Polk's Spanish Colonial house design featured twenty rooms and a three-story campanile. Polk designed a number of outdoor living areas within the still formal residence; the U-plan consisted of a linear arrangement of rooms, most aligned one room deep. The service wing was an exception to this linear design as the comfort of cross-ventilation was not a consideration for servants. The southern wing of the U contained the kitchen, pantry, servant's dining room, and office, and was connected to the formal dining room and its dining porch. Proceeding north, the central part of the U also contained a reception room, main hall, and great room. Loggias lined the central section's east and west facades. The north wing housed bedrooms for the family; a large terrace extended at this bedroom wing's west end, while a sleeping porch existed at the east end. A loggia also fronted the south side of the bedroom section. Bruce Porter worked with Mrs. Blaney on the design the gardens at this residence.
PCAD id: 16070