Fountain Elms - Utica
Another view of Fountain Elms, the home of Helen Munson Williams and her husband James Watson Williams. The house was a gift from Helen's father, Alfred Munson. The simple Italianate design of Fountain Elms was selected in part because James and Helen Williams envisioned the possibility of making additions to the house. Three additions were constructed by members of the family and a fourth was made by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in 1960. Recent renovations have helped preserve the building and return it to a close approximation of its appearance in the 1850s. A standing-seam copper roof was installed and the house's bricks were stripped of their many layers of old paint. The building was then repainted with sanded paint in the original colors of buff with the russet trim. This Victorian painting techinique was intended to protect the porous bricks from the elements and to fireproof the building. The sanded paint also served the aesthetic purpose of making the brick and wood look like stone. The front of the house is devoid of any paintings, in accordance with mid-19th-century customs. It was believed that foundation plantings would conflict with the harmonious blending of the exterior facade. Fountain Elms belongs to the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. Located at 310 Genesee Street in Utica, NY. (38)
Fountain Elms - Utica
Another view of Fountain Elms, the home of Helen Munson Williams and her husband James Watson Williams. The house was a gift from Helen's father, Alfred Munson. The simple Italianate design of Fountain Elms was selected in part because James and Helen Williams envisioned the possibility of making additions to the house. Three additions were constructed by members of the family and a fourth was made by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in 1960. Recent renovations have helped preserve the building and return it to a close approximation of its appearance in the 1850s. A standing-seam copper roof was installed and the house's bricks were stripped of their many layers of old paint. The building was then repainted with sanded paint in the original colors of buff with the russet trim. This Victorian painting techinique was intended to protect the porous bricks from the elements and to fireproof the building. The sanded paint also served the aesthetic purpose of making the brick and wood look like stone. The front of the house is devoid of any paintings, in accordance with mid-19th-century customs. It was believed that foundation plantings would conflict with the harmonious blending of the exterior facade. Fountain Elms belongs to the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. Located at 310 Genesee Street in Utica, NY. (38)