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Foster House (David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim)
As was the case with other architects who practiced in the 1930s and before, the architects used a number of different points of historic references in their designs. In the thirties and on into the post-World War II years, they tended to employ one of three images: the American Colonial, the French Provincial, and on occasion, the French Norman. The Foster house is one of the largest and most impressive of their post-1945 designs in the latter mode. This large suburban house is sheathed in brick that has been whitewashed to give an aged effect. Beside the entrance is a round tower with spire roof which houses the principal staircase. The steeply pitched gable roofs are picturesquely varied, and the skyline of the house is broken by a number of tall chimneys. Small hipped and round dormers break from the roof surface, and below, on the second floor, there is occasional half-timbering. In the realm of the late period revival, the Foster house is one of America's classics.