Lotta Crabtree Cottage facts for kids
The Lotta Crabtree Cottage is a special house built in 1885-1886. It's located in a neighborhood called Breslin Park in Mount Arlington, New Jersey. This house is famous for its unique "Shingle style" design. It was created by a well-known architect from Philadelphia named Frank Furness. The cottage is also an important part of the Mount Arlington Historic District, which means it's recognized for its history and special look.
Who Was Lotta Crabtree?
Lotta Crabtree (1847–1924) was a very popular American actress and comedian. She was especially famous for her roles in Western shows. She was a big celebrity in her time!
The Breslin Hotel and Its Cottages
Frank Furness, the architect, also designed a large hotel nearby called the Breslin Hotel. This hotel was built in 1886 and had 175 rooms. It was a fancy resort hotel that sat on a hill, offering amazing views of Lake Hopatcong. Furness also designed many summer cottages around the hotel.
Lotta Crabtree was given this house as a way to help promote the new Breslin Hotel. She named her new home "Attol Tryst." This name is actually "Lotta" spelled backward! She loved spending her summers there for 20 years.
What Makes the Cottage Special?
The Lotta Crabtree Cottage has 18 rooms and is built on land that slopes down towards Van Every Cove. On the side facing the land, it looks like a 2-1/2 story house. But on the lake side, it's 3-1/2 stories tall because of the slope!
The outside of the house has some interesting features designed by Furness. For example, it has "upside-down" chimneys. These chimneys have special corbels (support brackets) that stick out near the top. There's also a huge porch, or piazza, that wraps around three sides of the house. Part of this porch is shaped like a half-circle, following the curve of the living room inside.
Inside, the cottage shows off Furness's unique style, which was part of the Aesthetic Movement. You can see this in details like the fireplace, which has cool terra cotta (a type of clay) decorations shaped like dog-faced beasts on each side. The billiard room (a room for playing pool) once had a huge stone fireplace with a beautiful mosaic on it. This mosaic used gemstones to spell out "18 - LOTTA - 86," marking the year the house was completed.
