Peter G. Thomson House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Peter G. Thomson House
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| Location | 5870 Belmont Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio |
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| Architect | James Gamble Rogers |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts, Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 79001860 |
| Added to NRHP | November 29, 1979 |
The Peter G. Thomson House, also known as Laurel Court, is a beautiful historic building in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979. This means it's a special place worth protecting because of its history and design.
Today, Laurel Court is a private home. However, you can sometimes visit it! It is available for special events and tours if you book in advance.
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Building a Grand Home
Peter G. Thomson was a very successful businessman. He started a company called The Champion Coated Paper Co. In 1902, he decided to build a grand new home. He chose his wife's nephew, James Gamble Rogers, to design it. Rogers was a talented architect.
Inspired by a French Palace
James Gamble Rogers based the design of Laurel Court on a famous building in France. This building is called the Trianon de Marbre, which is part of the Palace of Versailles. The Grand Trianon was a smaller palace built for French royalty.
Laurel Court shares many features with the Grand Trianon. For example, it has similar decorated columns and a design with a long row of columns between two square sections. However, Laurel Court is smaller than the French palace. It is also made of simple stone, not fancy marble. Plus, it has two stories instead of one. These changes made it perfect for a private family home in the early 1900s. The Thomson family moved into their new home in 1907.
Cool Features Inside
Laurel Court was built with many amazing features for its time:
- An atrium with a roof that could open up!
- A swimming pool decorated with special tiles from Rookwood Pottery Company.
- Beautiful Turkish carpets.
- A library with walls covered in African rosewood.
- A music room decorated with real gold leaf.
Life at Laurel Court
Over the years, Laurel Court has been used for different purposes. It started as a single family home for the Thomson family. It also had other smaller buildings on its property.
From 1947 to 1977, the house served as the official home for the leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati. An Archbishop is a high-ranking religious leader. Later, it was also the home of Donald Larosa, who founded the popular LaRosa's Pizzeria.
See also
In Spanish: Casa de Peter G. Thomson para niños
