Flowering Stone. Villa Flora and Hydrangea paniculata, Wilhelminapark, Venlo, The Netherlands
In 1896 Peter Christiaan Joseph-Chretiën Haffmans - nicknamed 'Chretiën' (1872-1945) - and wealthy Venlo industrialist Peter Joseph Hubert Steegh - nicknamed 'Jos.' (1838-1923) - established the Bank van Haffmans en Steegh in Venlo. Later it was subsumed under another national bank. Steegh built himself fine Villa Arthur (1888) just across the Meuse River in Blerick. And in 1901 Haffmans followed suit in Venlo. His Villa Flora - see photo and the name inscribed just under the gutter - was built on the edge of the newly landscaped Wilhelminapark on the site of demolished Fort de Ginkel (built in 1731 and torn down in 1870).
The building has always fascinated me because of its eclectic art-nouveau style. Today it was particularly attractive framed by a hedge of cream-colored Hydrangeas.
Flowering Stone. Villa Flora and Hydrangea paniculata, Wilhelminapark, Venlo, The Netherlands
In 1896 Peter Christiaan Joseph-Chretiën Haffmans - nicknamed 'Chretiën' (1872-1945) - and wealthy Venlo industrialist Peter Joseph Hubert Steegh - nicknamed 'Jos.' (1838-1923) - established the Bank van Haffmans en Steegh in Venlo. Later it was subsumed under another national bank. Steegh built himself fine Villa Arthur (1888) just across the Meuse River in Blerick. And in 1901 Haffmans followed suit in Venlo. His Villa Flora - see photo and the name inscribed just under the gutter - was built on the edge of the newly landscaped Wilhelminapark on the site of demolished Fort de Ginkel (built in 1731 and torn down in 1870).
The building has always fascinated me because of its eclectic art-nouveau style. Today it was particularly attractive framed by a hedge of cream-colored Hydrangeas.