Patrick Clark House

Patrick Clark House

Browne’s Addition

At the west end of First Avenue, Cutter’s embrace of many styles is clear. In three adjacent houses, he intended to express distinct character in the homes of the clients. Their neoclassical, Mission Revival and Tudoresque styles express the historicism of the era. While each of these three is an essay in a relatively pure style, the house of Patrick Clark a few blocks away is utterly eclectic. Next to each of these four houses stands a carriage house in the same style. 

Patrick Clark House

Patrick Clark, who had arrived penniless from Ireland in 1870, worked his way from wielding a pickax to managing and owning mines, finally reaping huge profits in the Coeur d’Alenes and British Columbia. He reputedly asked Cutter for the most impressive house west of the Mississippi. The architect responded with an exotic design of real originality, drawing inspiration from Islamic and Oriental architecture. The broad roof overhangs and the second floor balconies impart a horizontal emphasis, while the asymmetrically placed tower creates a vertical foil. The round entry arch shows the influence of H. H. Richardson. Unifying the design with a smooth, warm colored brick Cutter combined the disparate elements in a coherent whole.

The entrance hall, with cusped arches reminiscent of Mughal, India, and a grand staircase, fulfills the promise of the exterior. The stained glass windows above the half landing with peacock motifs are almost certainly the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany. In the manner of the mansions of New York plutocrats each of the reception rooms was in a different architectural style. In the last half century this house has served as apartments, a restaurant and, today, the offices of a law firm.

Directions to the next stop: John A. Finch House