|
HVPF Advisory Board Member Mark Simon, FAIA, included the Caniff studio-house in his essay about Poor's houses for the 1988 Penn State HVPoor museum exhibition catalogue. Simon wrote the following about the house:
The next house that Henry built on South Mountain Road was for Milton Caniff in 1941 (figs. 56-60). It marks the next major step in Henry's evolution as a house builder (a small house for Isabel Padro some miles away built at the same time follows the model of the Anderson house much more closely).
The Caniff house sits above the road on South Mountain, facing south toward New York City. One approaches up a steep driveway, comes to a circular drive and flattened plateau halfway up the mountain, and sees the house from the west period. The house is el-shaped, the long side facing south.
On the north side, in the crook of the el is a courtyard terrace, a round tower entry and a staircase. On the south side are terraces and gardens stepping down the hill. The house, made of cinder blocks, has a flat roof, clearly in keeping with the modern movement. Especially on the south side of the living room windows become narrow, horizontal openings in white walls. The window mullions, painted black, disappear. Forms of the House have become very abstract, and there are a few conceits here directly reminiscent of the modern movement. One such conceit not appearing in any other houses is a pipe railing at the staircase and studio balcony on the north side of the house. This provides a sheltered porch to the front entryway. Inside the Caniff house are details found earlier in the Anderson House, including the wider plank floor, round exposed beams in the living room and metal casement windows, typical special details are found the ceramic sink in the downstairs bathroom, the spiral stair and the careful concern for light. Iin the living room is a fireplace with decorative ceramic grates which, as in the Anderson House, helps circulate air around the fireplace and chimney to capture more heat for the house. These grates were originally the radiator covers for elements of a dining alcove in the American designers gallery exhibition in 1929. -- Mark Simon
| 
